



Class _____ 
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COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT, 

























THE KINGDOM AND 
COMING OF CHRIST 

A STUDY OF MILLENNIALISM 


BY 

CLAYTON A. MUNRO 



BOSTON 

RICHARD G. BADGER 

THE GORHAM PRESS 









COPYEIGHT, 1919, BY CLAYTON A. MuXEO 

All Rights Reserved 




i ^ rd 

Made in the United States of America 


The Gorham Press, Boston, U.S.A. 



©CI.A530086 


I 



DEDICATED TO 

THE MEMORY OF MY PROMOTED 

MOTHER 

MY FIRST THEOLOGICAL INSTRUCTOR 












PREFACE 


T HE Great War with its severe shock has quick¬ 
ened interest in the millennial teaching of the sec¬ 
ond coming of Christ and the end of the world. To 
many there seems to be strong evidence to support the 
theory that a new dispensation is dawning in which 
Jesus will return to earth and assume control of the 
kingdoms of the world with the centre of his govern¬ 
ment at Jerusalem. Such a revelation of sovereign 
power would seem to be a quick remedy for all the moral 
and social ills of humanity and the establishment of 
righteousness on the earth. The premillennial plan 
of the ages so elaborately worked out binds God to 
clearly defined limits beyond which He cannot move, and 
outside of which apparently He has no jurisdiction. 
This plan the Almighty must follow with mathematical 
precision. It implies that He cannot shorten the days 
because they are set in thousand year ages, or dispen¬ 
sations ; neither can He lengthen them, even in the exer¬ 
cise of long-suffering mercy, because the times are ap¬ 
pointed. 

In early life the author came in contact with millen- 
nialism, and it made a favorable impression on him. 
Later, in his ministerial work, he was confronted with 
it in an aggressive form. Noting its unfortunate ef¬ 
fects he was led to a more careful and guarded study 
of its philosophy and theological bearing. This re¬ 
vealed the startling fact that in the premillennial sys¬ 
tem the gospel of Jesus is not considered the divine 
means for the conversion of the world. 

In 1915 the Ministerial Association of Bermuda gave 
v 


VI 


Preface 


the subject extended consideration. The author pre¬ 
sented the closing paper of the discussion. It was 
there suggested that a comprehensive treatment of the 
whole system from the viewpoint of that address would 
be very valuable to Bible students. 

These facts inspired the production of this book. 
It is prayerfully sent forth on its gospel mission in the 
full confidence that the Apostle was inspired by the 
Spirit of God when he wrote, “ Wherefore Jesus is able 
to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by 
Him, seeing He ever liveth to make intercession for 
transgressors.” (Heb. 7: 25.) 

Clayton A. Muneo. 


Annapolis Royal , N. S. 




CONTENTS 


CHAPTER PAGE 


I 

The Jewish Conception of the Kingdom 

1 

II 

The Millennial Conception of the 



Kingdom . 

8 

III 

The Throne of David. 

20 

IV 

The Millennial Reign ..... 

43 

V 

The Reign of Jesus. 

70 

VI 

The Purpose of the Gospel .... 

88 

VII 

The Fulness of the Gentiles 

140 

VIII 

The Two Resurrections. 

178 

IX 

Jesus Coming Again. 

198 


Introduction. 

198 


1. The End of the World .... 

199 


2 . The Return of Jesus to His Disciples 

3. The Coming of the Lord at the De¬ 

209 


struction of Jerusalem .... 

217 


4. The Testimony of Revelation . 

216 


5. Epistolary Testimony .... 

260 


0. The Coming of Christ to Judgment . 

275 

X 

The Gospel Hope. 

295 


Index . 

311 








THE KINGDOM AND 
COMING OF CHRIST 


THE KINGDOM AND COMING 
OF CHRIST 


CHAPTER I 

THE JEWISH CONCEPTION OF THE KINGDOM 

D URING the time that intervened between the 
prophets, or the closing of the Old Testament 
canon, and the advent of Jesus, there grew up a large 
apocalyptic literature, which gave a literal and political 
interpretation to the Messianic prophecies. This Rab¬ 
binical interpretation influenced and moulded all the 
thinking of the people. They looked forward to the 
promised Messiah, as he who would come and deliver 
them from the yoke of the foreigner, restore to them the 
Davidic kingdom, and make them the dominant world 
power unto which all nations would flow. (Isa. 2:2.) 

When Jesus entered upon his public ministry, this 
was the general expectation of the people. The fervid 
preaching of John the Baptist, from his startling text, 
“ Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand,” aroused 
the whole country with an unprecedented enthusiasm, 
and multitudes of excited people flocked to his great 
meetings at the fords of the Jordan. They felt that 
now r their long hoped for deliverance was to be accom¬ 
plished. Even the most zealous and devoted disciples 
of John accepted the announcement of the approaching 
kingdom, as an assurance that they were to receive im¬ 
mediately their political liberty under their own king of 
the lineage of David. Did not their prophets foretell 
such a glorious consummation? Did not all their 

1 


2 


The Kingdom and Coming of Christ 


schools teach and all their Rabbis agree that this was 
the meaning of all their prophets? Surely the glory of 
Israel was at hand. 

Such was the mental condition and religious expecta¬ 
tion of the people when Jesus began to preach and to 
teach the mysteries of the kingdom of God. This fact 
must be firmly held by the person who would understand 
and correctly interpret the preaching of Jesus and the 
peculiar effect it had upon both the populace and the 
rulers of the Jews. Their minds were so preoccupied 
with their political conditions, and the future of their 
country, that they unhesitatingly interpreted the decla¬ 
rations of Jesus to mean that they were now to be de¬ 
livered from the hated Roman power, to become again a 
sovereign people. The intense enthusiasm which moved 
the multitudes to follow Jesus from village to village 
and country to city, w r as not so much from a sense of 
moral need, as an assurance of physical relief and a 
quickening of political hopes. The religious and politi¬ 
cal w^ere so intertwined in the history of Israel and the 
thought of the people, that they could not think of a re¬ 
ligious reformation apart from the political deliverance 
of their country from the bondage of a foreign power. 
From the beginning of their history, church and state 
were so combined that they rose and fell together. 
Consequently, to them religious reformation meant po¬ 
litical restoration. 

All the teaching of Jesus was handicapped by these 
political hopes and aspiration of His hearers. They 
watched His words for any intimation that, at last, 
their political hopes and aspirations were to be real¬ 
ized. Owing to their predilections, His references to 
the kingdom conveyed quite a different meaning 
from what He intended. Every effort of His to re- 




The Jewish Conception of the Kingdom 3 

move the false impression only intensified it. So sure 
were they that He was the long expected deliverer of 
their country, that they attempted to 44 take Him by 
force and make Him king.” (John 16: 15.) Only His 
departure from their midst saved Him from this humili- 
tion, of their misconceived patriotic designs. When 
their attempt was thus foiled, they became suspicious of 
His claims and character, and turned away from Him. 
So great was the defection that from that time 44 many 
of His disciples went back and walked no more with 
him.” (John 6: 66.) 

Had He satisfied their national hopes, the rulers of 
the Jews would have received Him gladly, and would 
have followed Him loyally in a war of liberation against 
the Roman Cassar, but when their hopes were disap¬ 
pointed, they turned against Him, and concentrated all 
their thought and energy upon the task of discrediting 
Him as an impostor. Having committed themselves to 
such a policy, they felt that they must prove their case 
at all hazards. This led them into the iniquitous ex¬ 
pedient of bribing false witnesses to substantiate their 
envious accusations. Thus their political hopes, based 
upon a literal interpretation of their prophets, led 
them to deliver their Messiah to the Gentile Governor, 
with the vehement clamour 44 Crucify Him, crucify 
Him.” 

It requires no argument today to prove that these 
people through ignorance and envy committed the 
greatest crime in history, 44 when they murdered the 
Just and Holy One.” Paul referred to their ignorance 
thus comprehensively, 44 For they that dwell at Jeru¬ 
salem, and their rulers, because they knew Him not, nor 
yet the voices of the prophets which are read every 
sabbath day they have fulfilled them in condemning 




4 


The Kingdom and Coming of Christ 


Him.” (Acts 13:27.) Their error was due to a 
strictly literal interpretation of prophecy. This kind 
of interpretation so distorted their conception of 
the coming Messiah and the Messianic kingdom that 
they were not prepared to accept any person as the 
Messiah who was not pre-eminently a political leader 
and deliverer. This is why so many of the people 
were easily misled by the false Christs. Jesus cau¬ 
tioned His followers against such deceivers. (Matt. 
24: 5, 24.) These literal interpretations arousing and 
stimulating political hopes and aspirations were the 
chief barriers in the way of Jesus making Himself un¬ 
derstood. Throughout His ministry He labored to re¬ 
move these misconceptions and get the people to under¬ 
stand that His kingdom was not political but spiritual, 
He was not a rival of Caesar or any earthly ruler, 
neither was His kingdom designed to displace the politi¬ 
cal power of any nation, nor yet to restore the national 
integrity and departed political glory of Israel. When 
Pilate questioned Him regarding His regal claims and 
designs He definitely stated, “ My kingdom is not of 
this world: if my kingdom were of this world, then 
would my servants fight that I should not be delivered 
unto the Jews: but now is my kingdom not from hence.” 
(John 18:36.) 

He insisted that He had not come to assume any of 
the prerogatives either of an earthly king, or of a civil 
judge. When one said unto Him, “ Master, speak to 
my brother that he divide the inheritance with me,” 
Jesus quickly replied, “ Man, who made me a judge or 
divider over you? ” (Luke 12:14.) When the ambi¬ 
tious Salome, thinking she had a political pull, sought 
the highest offices in the restored kingdom of Israel, for 
her two boys, James and John, Jesus rebuked her with 




The Jewish Conception of the Kingdom 


5 


the statement, “ Ye know not what ye ask.” (Matt. 
20:22.) And then He proceeded to turn their 
thoughts entirely away from the idea of political pro¬ 
motion. Later, when the twelve, during the Paschal 
Feast, were assembled with Jesus in the upper room, 
they got into a shameful altercation over their respec¬ 
tive claims for the first place in the expected kingdom. 
Jesus rebuked them for their folly, and told them that 
the principles which governed His kingdom, were the 
reverse of those that govern the political rule of the 
nations of the world. (Luke 22: 24-27.) 

All these worldly ambitions and excited feelings were 
the result of the popular expectation that the Messiah 
was to be a temporal king enthroned at Jerusalem, and 
extending His political rule over all the nations. The 
deep despondency of His disciples over His crucifixion 
was due to the blasting of these political hopes. This 
is clearly shown by the conversation between the two 
disciples and the risen Christ on the way to Emmaus on 
the day of the resurrection. Cleopas explained their 
sorrow by relating the story of the crucifixion and add¬ 
ing, “ We trusted that it had been He which should re¬ 
deem Israel.” (Luke 24:21.) The redemption he 
had in mind was not moral, but political. 

The resurrection revived this buried hope. Though 
Jesus “ opened their understanding that they might 
understand the scriptures,” (Luke 24:44, 45) and all 
that was <e written in the law of Moses, and in the 
prophets, and in the Psalms,” concerning Himself, this 
misconceived hope of the political restoration of the 
kingdom of Israel was ever uppermost in their minds. 
During the forty days between the resurrection and 
the ascension Jesus, as He associated with His disci¬ 
ples, was at pains to give them very particular instruc- 




6 


The Kingdom and Coming of Christ 


tions regarding the spiritual nature of His kingdom 
and the religious conditions that govern the citizens 
thereof. Yet when taking final leave from them He 
mentioned the coming of the Holy Spirit as the fulfil¬ 
ment of the promise of the Father, they seized upon this 
as the possible time of the hoped for restoration, and 
they broke in with the question, 44 Lord, wilt thou at 
this time restore again the kingdom of Israel? ” Again 
the Lord administered a sharp rebuke for their literal¬ 
ism which closed their minds to the great realities of 
the spiritual verities of the kingdom of God. (Acts 
1:5-8.) 

The tenacity with which the chosen twelve held to 
the hope of the political restoration of the kingdom of 
Israel shows how deeply the Rabinnical interpretation 
of the prophets was rooted in the minds of the common 
people, as well as their rulers; and how it colored all 
their thinking and conceptions of the promised Mes¬ 
siah. Jesus was met by these false expectations at 
every turn. Any attempt on His part to correct the 
erroneous notions was charged against Him as evi¬ 
dence of His lack of loyalty to the law and institutions 
of Moses, and a traitor to His country. These ultra- 
patriotic sentiments based upon a literal interpretation 
of the prophets led to the crime of the crucifixion, and 
the final overthrow of Israel in the destruction of Jeru¬ 
salem. 

Even the pentecostal baptism did not fully remove 
the national aspirations of the disciples, nor make them 
infallible in judgment. This is very evident from the 
extended controversy over the question of circumcision 
which caused such sharp contention and division, not 
only among the Jewish Christians but between the 
apostles themselves. Even though Peter was the first 





The Jewish Conception of the Kingdom 7 


to carry the gospel to the Gentiles and defend their 
baptism to the Christian faith without circumcision, the 
old lingerings of the Jewish conception of the kingdom 
clung to him. When he went to Antioch where Paul 
was preaching the gospel to the Gentiles, he was led by 
those who came from James and separated himself from 
his Gentile brethren. “ The other Jewish converts dis¬ 
sembled likewise with him; insomuch that Barnabas was 
also carried away with their dissimulation.” (Gal. 
2:18.) So serious was the defection that Paul with¬ 
stood Peter to his face, because he was to be blamed. 

This is evidence of the extreme difficulty of even 
Christian people breaking away from national miscon¬ 
ceptions, and racial prejudices, and realizing that the 
gospel of Jesus has broken down the middle wall of 
partition so that in Christ Jesus there is neither Jew 
nor Gentile, but all are one in the unity of the faith 
and sonship of God the Father. 




CHAPTER II 


THE MILLENNIAL CONCEPTION OF THE KINGDOM 

HE premillennial school of Biblical interpretation 



JL teaches that there is yet to be a bodily reign of 
Christ on earth. The adherents of this school do not 
agree in the details of their theories. In fact there is 
such a wide divergence of opinion in the various sec¬ 
tions that they are seriously at variance among them¬ 
selves. The incompatible teachings of Millennial Dawn- 
ism, and so-called orthodox premillennialism are cases 
in point. They are unanimous, however, in their in¬ 
sistence upon what they call the literal interpretation 
of prophecy, and the theory that Christ must return to 
earth, live under physical conditions, and establish an 
earthly kingdom, with Jerusalem as His capital and the 
saints as His subjects. 

The main features of this teaching are: first, the 
kingly administration of Jesus must be in bodily pres¬ 
ence, not spiritual; second, it will be a literal reign on 
earth; third, Christ shall reign on the restored throne 
of David in Jerusalem; fourth, He shall set His face 
against the powers of darkness to reign over the united 
kingdoms of the world (this, of course, would imply a 
war of subjugation, and possibly a success only par¬ 
tial) ; fifth, His reign and kingdom shall last for a 
thousand years. 

On all these points, the millennialists agree with the 
Jewish conception of the kingdom. Some of the mil¬ 
lennial writers even appeal to the Rabbinical writings 


The Millennial Conception of the Kingdom 9 

to prove their position. W. E. B. in his book, Jesus Is 
Coming , page 37, says: 

Jewish writers throughout the Talmud hold that this mil¬ 
lennium will be chiefly characterized by the deliverance of 
the Jews from all their enemies, recovery of Palestine, and 
the literal reign of Messiah in unequalled splendor therein. 

Premillennialists hold much in common with the Jews, 
but also that our Lord Jesus Christ is the Messiah; that 
He is to return to earth and overthrow Satan, all ungodly 
government and lawlessness, having the church, with Him¬ 
self as sovereign, Jerusalem as capital, regathercd and con¬ 
verted Israel as the centre; and all nations included in a 
universal, world-wide kingdom of pure and blessed govern¬ 
ment. 

It will be noted that the only real difference between 
this putting of the premillennial conception of the king¬ 
dom, and the conception of the Jews is that the latter 
did not accept Jesus as the Messiah. But why did the 
Jews reject Jesus and His Messianic claims? They 
at first rallied around Him with marked enthusiasm, 
acknowledged Him as the Messiah, and were ready, 
even anxious, to proclaim Him king. He was even 
promised all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory 
of them. (Matt. 4:9, 10.) But when He rejected 
the temptations and repudiated all claims and inten¬ 
tions of an earthly kingship, they became critical and 
suspicious of Him. They were looking for a Messiah 
to come and establish an earthly kingdom. He came 
down from heaven to bring to earth a heavenly king¬ 
dom. They had drifted so far from the moral and 
spiritual ideals of their law and prophets, that they 
could not conceive of any kingdom but one founded on 
the political restoration of Israel. When He disap¬ 
pointed their expectations, they rejected Him and had 
Him put to death as a malefactor. 




10 


The Kingdom and Coming of Christ 


The premillennialists tell us that the Jews were per¬ 
fectly correct in their expectation of a political Mes¬ 
siah, anointed of God, to restore the fallen kingdom of 
Israel, re-establish the throne of David, and literally 
reign in person over all the nations of the earth with 
Jerusalem as Plis capital city. Their fatal mistake 
was in not understanding the chronology of their 
prophets. Had they understood the line of cleavage in 
the prophecies between the suffering Messiah and the 
glories of the kingdom, they would have known that the 
first advent was not to restore the kingdom of Israel, 
but to gather out of the world a people for His name, 
and at the second coming He would establish the throne 
of His might in Jerusalem. 

This is the discovery made by the millennialists. 
While they retain the literal interpretations of the 
Rabbinical writings regarding the political restoration 
of the political kingdom of Israel, they bisect the 
prophecies and apply the references to the sufferings 
of Messiah to the first advent; and all references to the 
kingdom, to the second coming. But such a rehabilita¬ 
tion of the old Jewish conception of the kingdom, even 
though the old garment is patched up with the new 
cloth of the Messiahship of Jesus, does not improve the 
situation. The facts remain that the Jews failed to 
discern any evidence in their prophets of a predicted 
second coming of the Messiah to establish His kingdom, 
and that Jesus repudiated absolutely all claims to po¬ 
litical leadership. It has been shown (Chapter I), that 
every time either the Jews or His chosen disciples ap¬ 
proached Him with any suggestions or questions re¬ 
garding His political claims, or the restoration of 
Israel, He rebuked them with an emphatic declara¬ 
tion that His kingdom was not of this world. The 





The Millennial Conception of the Kingdom 11 


disparity between the teaching of Jesus regarding the 
kingdom, and their interpretation of the prophets was 
so great, that the Jews could not reconcile the two, 
and therefore they refused to accept Jesus as the Mes¬ 
siah. If their only mistake, or their chief mistake, was 
a failure to distinguish between the purposes of the 
first and the second coming of the Messiah, it would 
not only have been an easy matter, but a very reason¬ 
able thing for Jesus to have intimated to them that 
their conception of the kingdom was correct, but they 
had misunderstood the time or dispensation in which 
the prophecies w T ere to be fulfilled. But, on the con¬ 
trary, He rejected their whole conception of the king¬ 
dom, and endeavored to teach them that the king¬ 
dom of heaven was a kingdom of spiritual fellowship, 
and of moral character. He does not even intimate 
that faith in Himself would assure the restoration of the 
political glory of the kingdom of Israel. 

Everywhere He urges the fact that repentance 
toward God, and faith in Himself as the one whom God 
had sent would give them everlasting life, and bring 
them into such spiritual relations with the Father and 
the Son that they would enter into the heavenly king¬ 
dom. 

He opened His ministry with the text of John the 
Baptist, “ Repent, for the kingdom of God is at hand.” 
(Matt. 3: 2. Comp. Matt. 4:17.) To inquiring Nico- 
demus He said, with divine emphasis, “ Verily, verily, I 
say unto you except a man be born from above, he can¬ 
not see the kingdom of God.” (John 3:3, N. T. Gr.) 
In the sermon on the Mount, when contrasting the 
material with the spiritual He said, “ But seek ye first 
the kingdom of God and His righteousness; and all 
these things shall be added unto you.” (Matt. 6: 33.) 




12 


The Kingdom and Coming of Christ 


In all His teaching of the kingdom, He aimed to turn 
the thoughts of the people away from earthly ambi¬ 
tions, and political aspirations, and centre them upon 
the spiritual and eternal verities of pure and undefiled 
religion. The inducements which He presented to them 
were not material gains, or the glories of an earthly 
kingdom, but moral salvation and a place with Him in 
heaven at the right hand of God. It took the chosen 
disciples of Jesus a long time to break away from their 
Jewish conceptions and get the viewpoint of Jesus. 
In fact, it was not until after He ascended unto the 
Father, and sent the Comforter, the Holy Ghost, in 
Pentecostal power, that they received the vision of the 
purely spiritual nature of the kingdom of God. Paul 
puts this divine conception of the kingdom in this con¬ 
cise form, “ For the kingdom of God is not meat and 
drink, but righteousness and joy and peace in the 
Holy Ghost.” (Rom. 14: 17.) 

The Jews’ mistake was not that they misunderstood 
the time the Messiah would establish His kingdom, but 
that they had an entirely erroneous conception of the 
nature and purpose of that kingdom. They were per¬ 
fectly correct in their expectations that the Messiah 
at His first advent would establish His kingdom with 
Jerusalem as the starting point, but they were entirely 
astray when they thought that kingdom must consist 
of the restoration of the political power and prestige 
of Israel. Both John the Baptist and Jesus from the 
beginning proclaimed, “ The kingdom of God is at 
hand.” (Matt. 3:2 and 4: 17.) “ And when He was 

demanded of the Pharisees, when the kingdom of God 
should come,” He answered them and said, 4 The king¬ 
dom of God cometh not with observation: neither shall 
they say Lo here! or lo, there! for, behold, the king- 




The Millennial Conception of the Kingdom 15 


dom of God is within you.’ ” (Luke 17: 20, 21.) It 
was already in their midst. The kingdom of God was 
the establishment of pure and undefiled religion in the 
world. It was even then at work like “ the leaven 
which a woman took and hid in three measures of 
meal.” When Jesus was preparing the disciples for 
His ascension, He said, “ Thus it is written, and thus 
it behooved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead 
on the third day, and that repentance and remission of 
sins should be preached in His name among all nations 
beginning at Jerusalem. And ye are witnesses of these 
things. And behold I send the promise of my Father 
upon you: but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until 
ye be endued with power from on high.” (Luke 24: 
46-49.) 

These disciples waited at Jerusalem in fellowship 
and prayer for ten days. “ And when the day of Pen¬ 
tecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in 
one place . . . and they were all filled with the Holy 
Ghost.” (Acts 2:1-4.) 

Then and there began the full preaching of the gos¬ 
pel of the kingdom, and on that day three thousand 
were converted to God and baptized. Thus Jerusalem 
was made the starting point of the kingdom of God, 
and from the Holy City radiated its light and power. 
This is the kingdom that was ordained of God to 
dominate the world. When the disciples listened to 
Jesus as He renewed the promise of the Father in 
that solemn moment on Mount Olivet, they broke in 
with the question of politics. It was so irrelevant 
and such a sad exhibition of their materialism that 
Jesus quickly brushed the question aside with the sharp 
rebuke: “ It is not for you to know the times and 

seasons which the Father hath put in his own power.” 





14 


The Kingdom and Coming of Christ 


To turn them back to the great question of the king¬ 
dom He was presenting to them and concentrate 
their minds upon their responsibility as citizens of 
that kingdom of God, He quickly added, 44 But ye shall 
receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come 
upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in 
Jerusalem, and in Judea and in Samaria, and unto the 
uttermost part of the earth.” (Acts 1:1-8.) Not 
only was Jerusalem the starting point for the extension 
of the kingdom, but the Jews were the chosen people to 
disseminate the truth of the kingdom to the uttermost 
part of the world. Paul writing to the Gentile Chris¬ 
tians at Ephesus reminds them that the Jews formed the 
foundation of the kingdom and that they were fellow 
citizens. He says, " Now therefore ye are no more 
strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the 
saints, and of the household of God; and are built upon 
the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus 
Christ Himself being the chief corner stone; in whom 
all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an 
holy temple in the Lord: in whom ye also are builded 
together for an habitation of God through the spirit.” 
(Eph. 2:19-22.) In this passage the basic idea is 
that of the kingdom in which all Christians are fellow 
citizens. The transition to the figures of the house, 
and family life, is very striking and impressive, but in 
both the kingdom and the family, the apostles and 
prophets are the foundation with Christ Jesus as the 
chief corner stone. 

The failure of the rulers of the Jews to recognize 
this spiritual nature of the kingdom of God, so clearly 
taught in the law of Moses, the psalms and the proph¬ 
ets, resulted in the crucifixion on Calvary’s Cross of 
their long expected Messiah. Their ignorance was not 





The Millennial Conception of the Kingdom 15 


of a prospective second coming of Christ, but of His 
real character and mission, and the essential nature of 
the kingdom He came to establish. Paul writing of 
the lack of the spiritual perception of the Jews says, 
“ Howbeit, we speak wisdom among them that are per¬ 
fect : yet not the wisdom of this world, that comes to 
naught; but we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, 
even the hidden wisdom which God ordained before the 
world unto our glory: which none of the princes of this 
world knew: for had they known it they would not have 
crucified the Lord of Glory.” (1 Cor. 2 :6-8.) 

Seeing that the mistake of the Jews had such dis¬ 
astrous results, is there not a danger that the rehabili¬ 
tation of Jewish literalism regarding the nature and 
principles of the kingdom of God, will prove a deterrent 
to the extension of the gospel as an all powerful evan¬ 
gelizing force in the world? 

We would not insinuate that millennialists assume 
the attitude of the Jews toward Jesus as the Messiah, 
nor yet that their conception of the millennial kingdom 
coincides with the Jewish conception of the Messianic 
kingdom. Millennialists fully accept the Messiahship 
of Jesus and the great Christian doctrine of atonement 
and salvation by faith. Therefore, they have a devout 
and pious Christian sentiment and spirit. And yet to 
them the gospel is only an intermediary dispensation 
between the Mosaic economy and the inauguration of 
the millennium by the second coming of Jesus. The 
character and form of this intermediary dispensation 
was determined by the perfidy of the Jewish hierarchy 
which rejected their king and expelled him from the 
earth by a violent death. This expulsion left the devil 
in charge of the world, as its prince and god. The 
gospel was not intended, in the divine plan, for the con- 




16 


The Kingdom and Coming of Christ 


version of the world. In fact, they see no hope for any 
real improvement of world conditions under the present 
dispensation: as Paul said, “ Evil men and seducers 
shall wax worse and worse, deceiving and being de¬ 
ceived.” (2 Tim. 3:13.) This world which “ lieth 
in the wicked one ” (1 Jno. 5: 19 R. V.) must go from 
bad to worse, until Jesus comes a second time to change 
the world order and set up His kingdom. They accept 
the present world crisis as indubitable proof of their 
theory, and see no solution of the world’s social, indus¬ 
trial, and political problems, except by a personal reign 
of Jesus on the earth as king of the nations. In the 
autumn of 1917, a number of eminent preachers of 
London, “ under a profound impression of the momen¬ 
tous nature of the present crisis,” were convinced that 
“ the Lord is at hand ” and issued a statement of their 
views in seven brief articles of faith. The fifth reads, 
“ That all human schemes of reconstruction must be 
made subsidiary to the second coming of the Lord, be¬ 
cause then all nations will be subject to His rule.” 

There is no doubt of the sincerity of these men, and 
all devout Christians who agree with them. Such a 
statement challenges attention chiefly as an offered 
solution of the present crisis. There is not a word re¬ 
garding the efficacy of the gospel as the power of God 
unto salvation. No appeal to men to observe and do 
the will of God as revealed in the Holy Word. The 
only hope for the world is the second coming of Christ as 
ruler of the nations. But suppose this expected coming 
of the divine king is delayed? Suppose these prophets 
have not read aright the signs of the times; or like the 
millennialists of a thousand years ago, have misjudged 
“ the times and the seasons which the Lord hath placed 
in His own power”? In such a contingency, “Is 




The Millennial Conception of the Kingdom 17 


there no balm in Gilead? ” Have these men nothing to 
offer as an immediate remedy for this world’s sores? 
We study their document in vain for the slightest inti¬ 
mation of any relief from any source for the evils that 
exist, except the predicted second coming of Christ. 
If these prophets have reliable credentials to prove 
that they have a special divine illumination that pro¬ 
tects them from all possibility of error, their pro¬ 
nouncement may be accepted without question, but they 
claim to base their conclusions and expectations upon 
the prophecies of the Bible. These prophecies are 
open to all for examination. It is our duty to search 
them carefully in the full light of the Gospel to see if 
these things are true. Our purpose is to study the 
millennial claims in the light of the Holy Scriptures and 
well authenticated history. 

We cannot help noting at this point a disagree¬ 
ment between the proclamation of the ten London 
preachers and the position of Jesus. When one of 
the disciples asked Jesus, “ Are there few that be 
saved? ” the Master gave this decisive answer, “ Strive 
to enter in at the strait gate: for many, I say unto 
you, will seek to enter in, and shall not be able.” (Luke 
13: 24.) In other words, your concern is not whether 
few or many are saved, but see to it, by the exercise of 
all your energies after godliness that you enter the 
strait gate yourself. When just before the ascension 
Jesus renewed to the disciples the promise of the Father, 
they asked “ Wilt thou at this time restore the king¬ 
dom of Israel?” He replied, “It is not for you to 
know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath 
put in His own power: But ye shall receive power after 
that the Holy Ghost has come upon you: and ye shall 
be witnesses unto me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea 




18 


The Kingdom and Coming of Christ 


and in Samaria, and even unto the uttermost parts of 
the earth.” (Acts 1: 6-8.) 

That is when they wanted to know the secrets of 
God, and were anxious to fix times and seasons, Jesus 
in effect told them that this was none of their affair. 
They were to seek divine qualification to preach the 
gospel, and were now sent to bear this healing balm 
for the world’s wounds unto “ even the uttermost parts 
of the earth.” They were not called to fix times and 
seasons, but to do their duty to the world by preach¬ 
ing righteousness and seeking lost men. 

This proclamation overlooks the gospel of salva¬ 
tion through faith in Jesus, and attempts to fix “ the 
times and the seasons which the Father hath placed in 
His own power.” While it does not attempt to set the 
day nor even the year, as some have, it says, “ I. That 
the present crisis points towards the close of the times 
of the Gentiles. II. That the revelation of our Lord 
may be expected at any moment,” which certainly is 
fixing the time as now present. 

Whatever may be the future history of the world, 
there are some fundamental facts of the gospel, and 
personal religious experience that must be held with all 
tenacity. To yield these would undermine the assur¬ 
ance of individual salvation, and destroy the effective¬ 
ness of the gospel appeal of repentance tow 7 ard God, 
and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. These facts of 
faith and experience are outlined in what Martin 
Luther called “ the little gospel,”— namely, “ For God 
so loved the world that He gave His only begotten son, 
that whosoever believeth on Him should not perish but 
have everlasting life. For God sent not His son into 
the world to condemn the world, but that the world 
through Him might be saved.” (John 3:16, 17.) 




The Millennial Conception of the Kingdom 19 


For two thousand years men and women accepting 
that gospel have been made children of God, and the 
social life of nations has been transformed. The ex¬ 
tension of this saving power through the gospel has 
given us our religious and civil liberties, our free Chris¬ 
tian institutions, even created the Christian civilization 
we so much prize. What might not the gospel have ac¬ 
complished for the world if it had been fully believed? 
Or, if the nations which accepted Christianity had been 
true to its teachings ? 





CHAPTER III 


THE THRONE OF DAVID 

O N the very threshold of the gospel we are met with 
the angelic announcement to the Virgin Mary of 
the sovereignty of Jesus. 44 The Lord God shall give 
Him the throne of His father David, and He shall 
reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His king¬ 
dom there shall be no end.” (Luke 1: 32, 33.) 

This was the renewal of the divine promise made unto 
David, by the prophet Nathan, in connection with the 
king’s decision to build a house for the Lord. The mil- 
lennialists insist that this promise must be literally ful¬ 
filled. That is, the political throne of David in Jeru¬ 
salem must be restored, Jesus must return and occupy 
that throne as a temporal king, and reign over united 
Israel and, through them, over all the nations of earth. 
The materialistic nature of these claims is so revolu¬ 
tionary that they demand very careful examination. 
In order to get the exact bearing of the scriptural 
meaning of the promise, we will quote the original mes¬ 
sage in full: 

And when the days be fulfilled and thou shalt sleep with 
thy fathers, I will set up thy seed after thee, which shall 
proceed out of thy bowels, and I will establish his kingdom. 
He shall build an house for my name, and I will establish 
the throne of his kingdom forever. I will be his father 
and he shall be my son. If he commit iniquity, I will chas¬ 
ten him with the rod of men, and with the stripes of the 
children of men: but my mercy shall not depart away from 
him, as I took it from Saul, whom I put away before thee. 
And thine house and thy kingdom shall be established for- 

20 


The Throne of David 


21 


ever before thee: thy throne shall be established forever. 
(2 Sam. 7: 12-16.) 

The seed of David, to whom these promises directly 
referred, was his son Solomon who immediately succeeded 
him and built the temple at Jerusalem during his peace¬ 
ful reign. The millennialists give this prophecy an 
absolute and unconditional interpretation. That is, 
that the political throne of David w^as unconditionally 
and absolutely established as an eternal sovereignty. 
It mattered not how far the seed or successors of David 
might depart from the law of the Lord, the everlasting 
stability of the political or earthly throne of David 
was irrevocably fixed. But David himself did not so 
understand the promise. This is made unmistakably 
clear in his charge to Solomon: 

And David said to Solomon, “ My son, as for me it was 
in my mind to build an house unto the name of the Lord 
my God: but the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 
* Thou hast shed blood abundantly, and hast made great 
wars: thou shalt not build an house unto my name, because 
thou hast shed much blood upon the earth in my sight. 
Behold, a son shall be born unto thee, who shall be a man 
of rest; and I will give him rest from all his enemies round 
about: for his name shall be Solomon, and I will give peace 
and quietness unto Israel in his days. He shall build an 
house for my name; and he shall be my son, and I will be 
his father; and I will establish the throne of his kingdom 
over Israel for ever/ 

“ Now, my son, the Lord be with thee; and prosper thou 
and build the house of the Lord thy God, as He hath said 
to thee. Only the Lord give thee wisdom and understand¬ 
ing, and give thee charge concerning Israel, that thou 

MAYST KEEP THE LAW OF THE LORD THY GOD. THEN SHALT 
THOU PROSPER, IF THOU TAKEST HEED TO FULFIL THE STAT¬ 
UTES AND JUDGMENTS WHICH THE LORD CHARGED MOSES WITH 
CONCERNING ISRAEL: BE STRONG AND OF GOOD COURAGE; 
DREAD NOT NOR BE DISMAYED.” (l Chron. 22:7—13.) 





22 


The Kingdom and Coming of Christ 


The condition for the prosperity and stability of the 
throne and kingdom of Israel is the keeping of the law 
of the Lord. “ If thou takest heed to fulfil the statutes 
and judgments which the Lord charged Moses with con¬ 
cerning Israel.” Both the statutes and judgments are 
specifically mentioned. The law and statutes of Moses 
all carried clearly defined penalties for disobedience and 
this divine law always has been administered by God 
with even justice. With God there is no respect either 
for persons or for nations. 

Solomon clearly recognized the fact that the per¬ 
manency of his throne depended upon the fidelity of 
himself and his people to the law of the Lord. This he 
definitely stated in bis prayer at the dedication of the 
temple. “ Therefore now, Lord God of Israel, keep 
with thy servant David my father that thou promisedst 
him, saying, 4 There shall not fail thee a man to sit 
upon the throne of Israel; so that (or only if) thy 
children take heed to their way, that they walk before 
me as thou hast walked before me.’ ” (1 Kings 8: 25.) 

In our study of God’s provisions for Israel and the 
world, we must not lose sight of the fact that God’s gov¬ 
ernment is preeminently moral. The political was or¬ 
ganized incidentally as a temporary expedient. Even 
then the political is surcharged with, and controlled by, 
the moral principles of the law of righteousness. The 
political organization of Israel as a kingdom was not 
the primitive arrangement of God. It was merely an 
expedient that grew out of the people’s revolt from the 
theocracy. In all the control of the political fortunes 
of Israel, the religious life predominated. When the 
people forsook the altars of Jehovah, they suffered, and 
became victims of their idolatrous neighbors. When 
they returned unto the Lord, they were restored and 




The Throne of David 


23 


strengthened. Thus the theocracy overshadowed the 
monarchy, to protect and control the kingdom, under a 
system of clearly defined laws. 

Failure to appreciate these facts leaves the casual 
reader of the prophets open to the materialistic inter¬ 
pretation insisted upon by the millennialists. But a 
comparison of this interpretation with the well known 
history of Israel and the Jews causes the careful stu¬ 
dent to hesitate. If we isolate the original prediction 
and read it as an absolute promise, it appears as though 
there must be a restoration of the monarchy of Israel 
under the returned Messiah, the promised seed of David. 
But when we turn to history, we find that there did fail 
a man of the seed of David to sit upon the throne of 
Israel. The Babylonian captivity made a serious break 
in the line of succession. Even though there was a 
partial restoration under the Maccabees, Judah was 
never perfectly free from foreign domination. Though 
Herod occupied the throne when Jesus came, he was a 
vassal of Rome, and a king in name more than in fact. 
The sovereign power was vested in the Roman praetor, 
who really took precedence over the king. After the 
destruction of Jerusalem, this nominal kingship passed 
away and for nearly two thousand years there has been 
no king of any kind at Jerusalem. This break is fatal 
to the millennial interpretation of the promise, “ There 
shall not fail thee a man to sit upon thy throne for¬ 
ever.” 

Another part of the prediction was: “ Thy house 

and thy kingdom shall be established forever.” The 
house and kingdom of David as a political sovereignty 
passed away long, long ago. Therefore, if we are con¬ 
fined to a rigidly unconditional and literal interpreta¬ 
tion of the promises made to David and the Virgin 




24 The Kingdom and Coming of Christ 


Mary, which demands an earthly kingdom under the 
rule of a scion of the house of David, the whole predic¬ 
tion breaks down utterly. Under this interpretation, 
there is no conceivable way of logically or historically 
vindicating these prophecies. 

The promise as taken by the millennialists is “ There 
shall not fail thee a man to sit upon thy throne for¬ 
ever.” The claim that Jesus at His second coming will 
restore the kingdom of Israel, and assume the throne 
of His father David, at Jerusalem, in a literal reign of 
power, does not, it cannot, dispose of the fact that for 
thousands of years there has not been a kingdom of 
Israel, nor a house of David. Suppose according to the 
expectations of the millennialists, Christ should come 
and restore the throne and kingdom of David, that 
restoration could not be retroactive. There would still 
remain this hiatus, in the succession covering thousands 
of years. “ Forever ” and “ without end,” admit of no 
such hiatus. 

Furthermore, the attempt to satisfy the terms of the 
promise by a millennial reign is as great a failure, be¬ 
cause while it does not bridge the chasm of the past, it 
has only a limited future. The millennial interpreta¬ 
tion predicts that at the end of the thousand years of 
glorious Messianic reign on the throne of David, Satan 
will be loosed from his chains and will defeat the world 
kingdom of the millennial reign. What then will be¬ 
come of the promise, “ I will establish forever,” “ of 
thy kingdom there shall be no end ”? 

From whatever angle we consider the literal and un¬ 
conditional interpretation of these predictions, we are 
compelled to pronounce it wholly untenable and mis¬ 
leading. 

The millennialists insist on the alternatives: either 




The Throne of David 


25 


Christ must come again and restore the throne of 
David, or God has broken His covenant. But are we 
confined to these alternatives? May there not be an¬ 
other interpretation that is much more consistent with 
the whole burden of scriptural teaching and the facts 
of history? We are estopped from accepting the mil- 
lennialist theory because it fails to recognize the facts 
of history, is out of harmony with human experience, 
and gives only a partial view of the prophecies of the 
Scriptures. Unless we can obtain an explanation that 
will be consistent with all interests involved and produce 
a complete harmony between prophecy and history, it is 
much wiser and safer to say “ we do not know,” and 
reserve judgment, than to attempt to force upon the 
Scriptures an interpretation that violates the indispu¬ 
table facts in the development of the nations and the re¬ 
ligious experiences of the people of God. 

We believe there is a reasonable and scriptural inter¬ 
pretation of the facts concerning the throne of David 
that meets all the demands of history and prophecy. 
The fundamental fact to be firmly held is that the per¬ 
manency of the political house and kingdom of David 
was conditioned upon the fidelity with which his sons 
and successors and the people of Israel observed the 
law of the Lord. David’s charge to Solomon was, “ I 
go the way of all the earth: be thou strong therefore 
and show thyself a man; and keep the charge of the 
Lord thy God, to walk in His ways, to keep His stat¬ 
utes, and His judgments, and His testimonies, as it is 
written in the law of Moses, that thou mayest prosper 
in all that thou doest, and whithersoever thou turnest 
thyself: that the Lord may continue His word which 
He spake concerning me, saying, 6 If thy children take 
heed to their way, to walk before me in truth with all 





26 


The Kingdom and Coming of Christ 


their heart, and with all their soul, there shall not fail 
thee,’ said He, 4 a man on the throne of Israel.’ ” (1 

Kings 2: 2-4.) 

These conditions were not only comprehensive and 
explicit, but they were emphatic. They were also fa¬ 
miliar to all the teachers and people of Israel. Not 
only were they read and expounded in the holy sanc¬ 
tuary, but they were incorporated into their songs of 
popular praise. The people sang, “ The Lord hath 
sworn in truth unto David: He will not turn from it: 
of the fruit of thy body will I set up thy throne, If thy 
children will keep my testimony that I shall teach them, 
their children shall also sit upon thy throne forever.” 
(Psalm 132:11.) 

Therefore, the promise to establish the political 
throne of David forever was not made absolute and in¬ 
dependent of all moral considerations. To regard it so 
is to do violence to the moral government of God. The 
endurance of the kingdom and throne was conditioned 
upon the spiritual character of the king and his people 
as proved by their whole-hearted obedience to the re¬ 
vealed law of God. It is a well authenticated fact that 
when Israel obeyed the word of the Lord, he prospered 
and overcame all his enemies. But when he turned to 
other gods and practiced abominations, the glory of the 
Lord departed from him, and his kingdom was overrun 
and subdued by his foes. Though Solomon’s reign be¬ 
gan in great glory and promise, in his later years his 
heart was turned away from the Lord his God, and u*x- 
der his son and successor, Rehoboam, his kingdom was 
disrupted. That was the beginning of the end. Idol¬ 
atry with its attendant evils waxed worse and worse un¬ 
til the divided kingdoms were destroyed. First the 
kingdom of Israel by the Assyrians, and later the king- 




The Throne of David 


n 


dom of Judah by the Babylonians; and the people were 
carried into captivity from which only a small remnant 
ever returned. 

When the party of the second part of a covenant vio¬ 
lates the conditions of the agreement, the party of the 
first part is relieved of his obligations, unless it be to 
impose the penalties stipulated in the contract. To 
condone the violation of the covenant would make the 
party of the first part an accomplice after the fact with 
the violator, and a sharer of his guilt. When the king 
and people of Israel, the parties of the second part, had 
persisted for centuries against all the compassion, long- 
suffering, and forgiveness of God, the party of the first 
part, to violate all the provisions of the divine cove¬ 
nants, there was nothing left for the Most High, but 
to withdraw His protecting hand and permit the pre¬ 
scribed penalty to fall upon the transgressors. The 
prophet Ezekiel makes this clear. (Ezekiel, chs. 18 
and 33.) With Ezekiel agreed all the prophets. The 
burden of the prophecies is a bitter wail over the dis¬ 
obedience of the people, and the consequent destruction 
they were courting, accompanied with the radiant prom¬ 
ises of prosperity and great glory if they would repent 
of their sins and return to God. The Lord by the 
mouth of Hosea made this terse but urgent appeal, 44 O 
Israel, thou hast destroyed thyself, but in me is thy 
help.” (Hosea 13:9.) To Ezekiel the Lord said, 
“ Say unto them, 4 As I live,’ saith the Lord God, 4 1 
have no pleasure in the death of the wicked; but that 
the wicked turn from his way and live: turn ye, turn 
ye, for why will ye die, O house of Israel? 5 ” (Ezek. 
33:11.) After struggling long to save backsliding 
Israel, the Lord said, 44 Ephraim is joined to his idols: 
let him alone.” (Hosea 4 : 17.) 





The Kingdom and Coming of Christ 


28 


As the final destruction of Jerusalem, and the dis¬ 
persion of the Jews to be without a country or a king, 
drew near, Jesus placed the whole responsibility for 
the approaching disaster upon the wayward and unre¬ 
pentant people. On His last visit to the Holy City, 
when the multitudes followed Him with such loud ac¬ 
claim, spreading their garments in the way, waving the 
palm branches of victory, and shouting their praise 
unto God “ for all the mighty works that they had seen, 
saying, ‘ Blessed be the king that cometh in the name 
of the Lord: peace in heaven and glory in the highest,’ ” 
Jesus looking upon the Holy City from the Mount of 
Olives, was deeply moved by its rejection of God. 
From His point of vantage, He looked into the future 
and saw the armies of the enemy laying it waste, and 
He wept. With the tears of sorrow coursing down 
His cheeks, He broke forth in this sad lament: 

If thou hadst known, even thou, at least in this thy day, 
the things which belong unto thy peace: but now they are 
hid from thine eyes. For the days shall come upon thee, 
that thine enemies shall cast a trench about thee, and com¬ 
pass thee round, and keep thee in on every side, and shall 
lay thee even with the ground, and thy children within 
thee; and they shall not leave in thee one stone upon an¬ 
other; because thou know T est not the time of thy visitation. 
(Luke 19:37-44.) 

During Passover week, Jesus spent His days in the 
Holy City teaching and working in the temple, in a last 
great effort to turn the people to God and save them 
from the pending disaster. When taking His final leave 
from the people, He preferred this serious charge 
against them, “ Wherefore, behold, I send unto you 
prophets, and wise men and scribes: and some of them 
ye shall kill and crucify; and some of them ye shall 





The Throne of David 


29 


scourge in your synagogues, and persecute them from 
city to city: that upon you may come all the righteous 
blood shed upon the earth, from the blood of righteous 
Abel to the blood of Zacharias, son of Barachias, whom 
you slew between the temple and the altar. Verily I 
say unto you all these things shall come upon this 
generation. 

“ O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the proph¬ 
ets and stonest them that are sent unto thee, how often 
would I have gathered thee together, even as a hen 
gathereth her chickens under her wing, but ye would 
not. Behold your house is left unto you desolate.” 
(Matt. 23:34-38.) Special attention is called to the 
conditions, 44 But ye would not,” and 44 Because thou 
knewest not the time of thy visitation.” The respon¬ 
sibility for the ignorance and refusal was with the peo¬ 
ple. For centuries God by the mouth of His prophets 
and by the continuous manifestations of His grace and 
power, labored to save Israel from the dire disaster of 
idolatry and immorality, which they were bringing upon 
themselves, but they would not be saved. When God 
sent His son in a final effort, and thus exhausted the 
content of mercy, and grace, they rejected all overtures 
of love, and crucified their Lord. Therefore, the over¬ 
throw of the reigning house of David, and the absolute 
destruction of the kingdom of Israel were not due to 
any failure or unfaithfulness on the part of God, but 
the inevitable result of the people’s own rebellion against 
God and His law: according to the warning of Isaiah, 
44 If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat of the good 
of the land; but if ye refuse and rebel ye shall be de¬ 
voured by the sword; for the mouth of the Lord hath 
spoken it.” (Isa. 1:19, 20.) 

We now return to the angel’s promise to the Virgin 




30 


The Kingdom and Coming of Christ 


Mary with which this chapter opens. Those who 
adopt the political and materialistic theory that Christ 
must come again and restore the throne of David 
are confronted with grave difficulties. This literal in¬ 
terpretation instead of extricating them from the per¬ 
plexities of the passage, only multiplies their problems. 
The attitude of Jesus toward the political aspirations 
of the Jews shows that He did not accept the promise 
in a political sense. The people, as has been shown 
above, who favored His Messianic claim expected Him 
to take immediate steps to reclaim the throne of David. 
But Jesus repudiated all claims to political preroga¬ 
tives and powers. He carefully avoided everything, 
whether of word or act, that would indicate any aspira¬ 
tion toward an earthly throne, even with spiritual and 
heavenly prerogatives. He quickly resented and frus¬ 
trated every proposition to make Him king. He was 
always particular to show loyal deference to the exist¬ 
ing sovereign power, even though it was that of the 
Romans, so hated by His people. He even directed 
that the disputed tribute be paid according to the 
Roman requirements, saying, “ Render unto Caesar the 
things that are Caesar’s and unto God the things that 
are God’s.” (Matt. 22: 16-21.) On one occasion He 
performed a miracle to obtain the tribute money for 
Himself and Peter, to avoid offending the Roman law. 
(Matt. 17: 24-27.) He gave no intimation that then 
or at any future time, He expected to assume an earthly 
throne, displace all existing rulers and dominate the 
world of politics by regal power. If God’s plan of the 
ages looks forward to this materialistic consummation 
of the gospel and work of Jesus, it is strange that He 
did not make some clear reference to it and intimate 
that the people’s interpretation of the prophecies was 




The Throne of David 


31 


well founded, but they had mistaken the dispensations. 
But nothing of the kind appears in all His teaching. 
He constantly discourages the popular idea that the 
Messiah was to restore the departed political power and 
glory of Israel, and is absolutely silent about another 
dispensation when this has been consummated. 

These facts force the conclusion that there must be 
a profounder meaning to this promise than that con¬ 
tained in the millennial interpretation. In the inter¬ 
pretation of the holy scriptures, it is necessary to be¬ 
ware of the temptation to select isolated passages, with¬ 
out regard for their connections and atmosphere, and 
appropriate them to support some cherished theory or 
dogma. By such a method, scriptural texts can be 
found to support any conceivable theory that a reli¬ 
gious adventurer may wish to propound. It has been 
said, “ The Bible is like a violin, you can get any tune 
out of it you like. All depends on how you finger the 
strings.” But the strings must be fingered correctly 
to produce the perfect harmony of music. In 
like manner, the texts of scripture must be truthfully 
handled and rightly interpreted to maintain the har¬ 
mony of the Word of God, and learn its profounder 
moral and spiritual lessons. That is, the Bible must 
be considered as a whole, and each passage studied in 
the light of its connections, the history that lies behind 
it, all parallel passages and connections, and the politi¬ 
cal, social, moral, and religious atmosphere in which it 
was conceived. Such a careful study reveals the fact 
that scriptural prophecy has a profounder meaning 
than the literal terms and political connections would 
indicate. It is this profounder meaning that must be 
sought to give these Messianic predictions and prom¬ 
ises their proper bearing. Those who flout the pro- 




32 


The Kingdom and Coming of Christ 


phetic imagery and spiritual thought and content do 
serious violence to the word of the Lord. 

The prophecy of the angel to the Virgin Mary is dis¬ 
tinctly Messianic, and describes the Messianic offices of 
Jesus rather than His political prospects. It has a 
much profounder meaning than could be contained in a 
promise of the restoration of the political throne of 
David. By tracing out this messianic meaning, our 
vision of the deep things of God is broadened and clari¬ 
fied, and we can see more clearly how God by types and 
symbols revealed the mysteries of religion. 

The throne of David was typical of the messianic 
throne, even as David, himself, was a type of Jesus. 
The predictions and promises made to and of David 
were used by accommodation to describe the offices and 
prerogatives of Jesus, as the anointed Son of God. 
This method of accommodation was generally recog¬ 
nized by the New Testament writers. Matthew uses it 
very freely when elucidating the messianic prophecies. 
For instance, when relating the return of Joseph, and 
the young child Jesus, from the sojourn in Egypt he 
says, " That it might be fulfilled which was spoken of 
the Lord by the prophet saying, ‘ Out of Egypt have I 
called my son.’” (Matt. 2:15.) This is simply an 
accommodation of the prophet Hosea’s historic refer¬ 
ence to the deliverance of Israel, under Moses, from the 
Egyptian bondage. The complete passage as given by 
the prophet is, “ When Israel was a child, then I loved 
him, and called my son out of Egypt.” (Hosea 11:1.) 
Again, when Joseph came from Egypt into Galilee, 
Matthew says, “ He came and dwelt in the city of 
Nazareth that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by 
the prophets, ‘ He shall be called a Nazarene.’ ” 
What prophets predicted that the Messiah should be 




The Throne of David 


S3 


called a Nazarene? This question has been very per¬ 
plexing to commentators. 

The best explanation of the origin of this name appears 
to be that which traces it to the word Netzer, in Isaiah 11: 
1 • the small, twig, sprout, or sucker, which the prophet 
there says “ shall come forth from the stem (or rather 
stump) of Jesse the branch which should fructify from his 
roots.” The little town of Nazareth — mentioned neither 
in the Old Testament nor in Josephus — was probably so- 
called from its insignificance — a weak twig in contrast 
to a stately tree; and a special contempt seemed to rest 
upon it, . . . over and above the general contempt in which 
all Galilee was held, from the number of Gentiles that set¬ 
tled in the upper territories of it, and, in the estimation of 
the Jews, debased it. Thus in the providential arrange¬ 
ment by which our Lord was brought up in the insignificant 
and opprobrious town called Nazareth, there was involved, 
first, a local humiliation; next an allusion to Isaiah’s pre¬ 
diction of His lowly, twig-like upspringing from the 
branchless, dried up stump of Jesse; and yet further, a 
standing memorial of that humiliation which, “ the proph¬ 
ets ” in a number of the most striking predictions, had at¬ 
tached to the Messiah. (Jamison, Fausset and Brown, 
Bible Commentary.) 

Thus, a study of the quotations of the Evangelists 
shows that they followed the rule of accommodation by 
appropriating Old Testament prophecies to New Testa¬ 
ment incidents and facts, a common practice among all 
New Testament writers, as well as Rabbinical interpre¬ 
ters. By this rule, Matthew could appropriate Hosea’s 
reference to the deliverance of Israel from the bondage 
of Egypt under Moses, to the bringing of the young 
child Jesus out of Egypt by his father Joseph. {Comp. 
Hosea 11:1 Matt. 2:14, 15.) This method of New 
Testament writers must be recognized by all candid 
students and Biblical interpreters. Apply this rule to 





34 


The Kingdom and Coming of Christ 


the passage in question and instead of its demanding 
the bodily presence of Jesus, seated on the temporal 
throne of David and reigning in an earthly kingdom, it 
implies a messianic sovereignty that can never be over¬ 
thrown, but must abide forever and ever. 

The prophet Isaiah comes a little closer to our sub¬ 
ject. The messianic prophet definitely describes to his 
generation the nativity of Jesus and the character of 
His government and kingdom. He says: 

For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and 
the government shall be upon His shoulders: and His name 
shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, the Mighty God, 
the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace. Of the in¬ 
crease of His government and peace, there shall be no end, 
upon the throne of David, and upon His kingdom, to order 
and establish it with judgment and with justice from hence 
forth even forever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will 
perform this. (Isaiah 9: 6, 7.) 

In no possible way can this prophecy be correctly 
applied to an earthly political kingdom of Christ, be¬ 
cause it is a direct and definite prediction of the first 
advent. Christ was born true to this prophecy, ful¬ 
filled His earthly ministry, and ascended unto the 
Father without occupying the throne of David in Jeru¬ 
salem. Even the principle of accommodation will not 
provide for such a restoration of the throne of David 
as is claimed by the millennialists. First, because the 
throne and government were to be established at His 
first advent; and secondly because it is a moral govern¬ 
ment that is described by the prophet, to be adminis¬ 
tered by the divine son of God, under the moral law. It 
was of this kingdom that Jesus spoke w T hen He said, 
44 Seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteous¬ 
ness.” (Matt. 6:33.) The gospel of Jesus is the 




The Throne of David 


35 


divine exposition of the laws of this kingdom, which are 
codified in the sermon on the mount. This kingdom 
established on earth by the incarnation of Jesus, is ad¬ 
ministered from the glorified throne in heaven, of which 
the throne of David was the only fitting earthly type. 

This interpretation is strongly supported by Peter in 
his pentecostal sermon. That we may get the full bear¬ 
ing of this inspired exposition, it will be necessary to. 
quote the entire passage. After explaining to the 
amazed people, that the spiritual demonstration for 
which they could not account, was the result of the out¬ 
pouring of the spirit of God predicted by the prophet 
Joel, and rehearsing the known facts of the life, death, 
and resurrection of Jesus, he turned to the profounder 
spiritual significance of this divine movement, with this 
serious and earnest declaration: 

Men and brethren, let me freely speak unto you of the 
patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried, and his 
sepulchre is with us unto this day. Therefore being a 
prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath 
unto him, that of the fruit of his loins, according to the 
flesh, he would raise up Christ to sit upon his throne; he 
seeing this before spake of the resurrection of Christ, that 
his soul was not left in hell, neither his flesh did see cor¬ 
ruption. This Jesus hath God raised up, whereof we all 
are witnesses. Therefore being by the right hand of God 
exalted, and having received of the Father the promise of 
the Holy Ghost, he hath shed forth this, which ye no^ 
see and hear. For David is not ascended into the heavens 
but he saith himself, “ The Lord said unto my Lord, sit 
tnou on my rignt nana until 1 make thy foes thy footstool. 
Therefore, let all the house of Israel know assuredly that 
God hath made that same Jesus whom ye have crucified, 
both Lord and Christ. (Acts 2:29-36.) 

The only logical conclusion to be derived from this 
passage is that the throne of David, here described, is 




36 


The Kingdom and Coming of Christ 


at the right hand of God in the heavens, to which David 
himself had not ascended. An attempt to place it in 
any lower realm robs the exalted language of the in¬ 
spired apostle of its point and power. He describes a 
transaction that had been completed, the closing of 
which made Pentecost possible and precludes all pos¬ 
sibility of taking his language as a prediction of a 
transaction which after two thousand years is still 
future. The triumph of the resurrection of Jesus, and 
His exaltation to the right hand of God, were the irre¬ 
futable proofs of His messiahship. The unmistakable 
evidence of this exaltation was the shedding forth of 
the Holy Ghost, which that day had produced such 
wonderful results. This place at the right hand of 
God was the throne of David mentioned by Peter. 
From this throne Jesus, as the Sovereign Lord, as¬ 
sumed the moral government of the world. “ To sit on 
the right hand of God means to be raised to the highest 
dignity and power in the realms of glory, and admin¬ 
ister the laws of both worlds.” (Dr. A. Clark, Commen¬ 
tary.) This dignity and supreme sovereign power 
Jesus claimed for Himself, when He told His disciples, 
“ All power is given unto me both in heaven and in 
earth.” (Matt. 28:18.) 

The throne of David was typical of the throne of 
God. Although David’s throne was political and na¬ 
tional, it represented to the people of Israel the divine 
sovereignty of the kingdom, inasmuch as David was 
anointed by God to be king over God’s people and to 
administer his sovereign powers as God’s servant. The 
national throne, though the seat of the nation’s ruler, 
when he is administering the powers of the king, repre¬ 
sents the nation’s sovereignty. It is in this figurative 
or representative sense that we usually speak of the 




The Throne of David 


87 


throne. For instance, when we speak of the throne of 
England we usually mean the seat of the sovereign au¬ 
thority and power of the British Empire. 

It is also in this figurative sense that we use the 
phrase, the throne of God , meaning the seat of the 
sovereign authority and power of the Almighty ruler of 
the universe. From the beginning of the world to the 
organization of Israel into a nation, the form of gov¬ 
ernment by which God ruled His people was theocratic. 
The theocracy continued under the judges until 
the people became uneasy and insisted upon having a 
king like the neighbouring nations. “ The thing was 
evil in the eyes of Samuel, and he prayed unto the 
Lord.” “ And the Lord said unto Samuel, ‘ Hearken 
unto the voice of the people in all that they say unto 
thee: for they have not rejected thee, but they have 
rejected me, that I should not reign over them.’ ” (1 

Sam. 8: 6, 7.) Thus back of the throne of David, was 
the throne of the theocracy. 

The Jews (or children of Israel) as the chosen people 
of God constituted this theocracy during the Mosaic dis¬ 
pensation. On the throne of this theocracy, David was 
representative king. When the Jewish race ceased to be 
the theocracy, by the taking of the kingdom of God from 
them, that kingdom was established on a new basis, by 
which every man, Jew or Gentile, was admitted to form 
part of the kingdom of faith. On the throne of that the¬ 
ocracy sits Jesus, the eternal successor of David. ( Whed - 
don's Commentary, Luke 1: 32 , 33.) 

In this case, also, Jesus could say, “ Before David 
was I am.” The throne of David was only an earthly 
manifestation of the throne of the theocracy, and repre¬ 
sented the Messianic throne, or the sovereign authority 
and power of Jesus as the eternal Redeemer and Ruler 





38 


The Kingdom and Coming of Christ 


of the people of God. Through him, the promise of 
the permanency and glory of the throne of David has 
been literally fulfilled in a higher and more transcendent 
manner than was ever dreamed of by the Jews or any 
others who centre their attention upon an earthly 
throne. The man Christ Jesus gathered unto Himself 
all the moral and eternal significance of the sovereign 
rights and authorit}^ of the throne of David, and has 
gloriously combined the human and divine in the ad¬ 
ministration of the kingdom of God upon earth. 

The objection urged against this interpretation is, 
that it is an unwarranted spiritualization of literal 
prophecy. The question asked by the millennial liter- 
alists is, “ On what authority do we accept as literal 
the promise to Mary, ‘ Thou shalt bring forth a son, 
and shalt call his name Jesus ’ in Luke 1:31, and then 
spiritualize the subj oined statements, 4 The Lord God 
shall give unto Him the throne of His father David, 
and He shall reign over the house of Jacob forever ’ ? ” 
It is contended that the prediction of the birth of Jesus 
has been literally fulfilled, and the prediction that He 
would sit upon the throne of David must also be lit¬ 
erally fulfilled. 

The distinction here made between the literal and 
the spiritual is not well founded. The spiritual is just 
as literally true as the physical and the material. It 
is perfectly correct to contrast the literal and figura¬ 
tive, or the physical and the spiritual, but not the lit¬ 
eral and the spiritual. Figurative language is used in 
scripture to describe and explain both the physical and 
spiritual. It is just as literally true that Jesus was 
“ exalted to the right hand of God to be a prince and 
a Saviour ” (Acts 5:31) as it is literally true that He 
was born of the Virgin Mary. The throne of David 




The Throne of David 


39 


He was ordained to occupy forever, was not the politi¬ 
cal throne at Jerusalem, which was finally overthrown 
by the Romans, but the Messianic or Mediatorial throne 
at the right hand of God “ Far above all principality 
and power and might and dominion and every name that 
is named, not only in this world but also in that which 
is to come.” (Eph. 1:21.) This is the throne of the 
theocracy that was typified by the political throne in 
the Holy City of Jerusalem, just as that city itself was 
a type of the kingdom of God, and of heaven. 

Certainly, this was the conception of Paul, the 
Apostle. Many quotations might be given from his 
epistles in support of this interpretation. One char¬ 
acteristic passage, that in its very comprehensive 
sweep gathers up the apostolic teaching, will be suf¬ 
ficient : 

Wherefore, I also, after I heard of your faith in the 
Lord Jesus, and love unto all the saints, cease not to give 
thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers; that 
the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of Glory, 
may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in 
the knowledge of Him: the eyes of your understanding 
being enlightened: that ye may know what is the hope of 
His calling, and what the riches of the glory of His in¬ 
heritance in the saints, and what is the exceeding greatness 
of His power to us ward who believe, according to the work¬ 
ing of His mighty power, which He wrought in Christ, 
when He raised Him from the dead, and set Him at His 
own right hand in the heavenly places, far above all prin¬ 
cipality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every 
name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that 
which is to come: and hath put all things under His feet, 
and gave Him to be the head of all things to the church, 
which is the body, the fulness of Him that filleth all in All. 
(Eph. 1: 15—23.) 

Exalted to “ the right hand of God,” means to sit 




40 


The Kingdom and Coming of Christ 


with God on His throne, and to reign with Him on 
terms of equality. This exaltation to the highest 
sovereignty of authority and power is an accomplished 
fact. Paul wrote in the past tense, without hinting the 
possibility of a more exalted and glorious throne for 
Him to occupy. In fact, his terms are exhaustive. 
Examine them closely; “ According to the work¬ 
ing of His mighty power which He wrought in Christ, 
when He raised Him from the dead, and set Him at His 
own right hand in heavenly places (Gr. in the heaven- 
lies) far above all principality, and power, and might, 
and dominion, and every name that is named, not only 
in this world, but in the world to come.” There can 
be nothing higher, or more powerful or glorious either 
in this age or any age that may come in the future. 
Here the terms of Paul are absolute and exclusive, 
ou monon en to-aioni-touts , alia kai en to mellonti y “ not 
only in this age, but also in the coming one, or any that 
may be coming.” 

When the exalted and glorified Jesus delivered His 
messages to the exiled apostle John on lonely Patmos to 
be transmitted to the churches of Asia, He closed the 
series with the solemn declaration, “ To him that over- 
cometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even 
as I overcame, and am set down with my Father in His 
throne.” The throne of Jesus is not one yet to be 
established or restored, but one that He is now occupy¬ 
ing. The throne that those who overcome will share 
with Him, according to the promise, is not one that is 
yet to be won, or to be taken possession of, but a 
throne upon which He is now sitting, and from which 
He in unison with the Father is directing, or adminis¬ 
tering the divine government. This is made clear from 
the grammatical construction of our text. The state- 




The Throne of David 


41 


ment is in the past tense and very emphatic. Os kago 
enikesa , kai ekathisa , “ As I also overcame and sat 
down with my Father in his throne.” (Revised Ver¬ 
sion.) 

Those who reason that there are two thrones, the 
Father’s throne which Jesus is now permitted to share, 
and the other the throne of David, which Jesus will 
assume in His millennial reign, and share with the 
saints, are very sorely pressed for an argument. 
Would that millennial throne be more exalted than the 
throne He now shares with the Father? If so, it would 
be more exalted than the throne of God which is not 
admissible. Would it be less exalted than the throne 
He now occupies? If so, that would mean a second 
humiliation. 

If the millennial throne, or the throne of David 
means the Messiah established in restored Jerusa¬ 
lem, as this world’s political sovereign, however abso¬ 
lute and righteous that sovereignty might be, and how¬ 
ever much it might be enshrouded with indescribable 
rapture and glory, it could mean nothing less than a 
second humiliation, for which there is no intimation in 
the scriptures, and no reason in the revealed plan of 
God for the redemption and salvation of the world. 

The simple explanation of the co-reign of Jesus with 
the Father upon the throne in heaven is that the mes¬ 
sage was delivered in the language of earth. There is 
no other medium of conveying heavenly realities to the 
children of men. Therefore, of necessity, the language 
is figurative. In ancient times, it was not an uncom¬ 
mon thing for the king and his son to occupy conjointly 
the throne of the kingdom and reign on terms of equal¬ 
ity. Such a double throne is used as a figure of Christ 
and His Father united in the supreme, divine sover- 




42 


The Kingdom and Coming of Christ 


eignty both of earth and of heaven. There is, how¬ 
ever, this exalted difference between the figure and the 
reality. In the figure, the father and son are united 
only in the bonds of office, but in the reality the Father 
and Son are one in essence and substance. Jesus said, 
“ I and my Father are one.” In logic, distinction can 
be made between them, but in substance there is no dis¬ 
tinction. Consequently, the throne of the Father and 
Son is one throne. It is the throne of God, now occu¬ 
pied by the Son, who was Emanuel, “ God with us.” 
(Matt. 1:23.) This identity of Father and Son is 
thus emphatically expressed by Paul to Titus, “ Look¬ 
ing for the blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of 
the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ.” (Titus 
2: 12.) We are here referred back to that remarkable 
prediction of Isaiah, in which the son to be born of the 
house of David, to occupy the throne of David and 
administer the government of the kingdom of God is 
called, “ The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The 
Prince of Peace.” (Isa. 9:6.) This throne of David 
is the throne of the theocracy, which Jesus now occu¬ 
pies, and from which He administers dominion and 
power over the kingdom of God in earth and heaven. 
Thus the prediction of the angel to Mary has been 
literally fulfilled, and all peoples, tribes, and tongues 
are called upon to worship the Lord of glory, who is 
“ the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise 
God, to whom be honor and glory forever and ever. 
Amen.” (1 Tim. 1:17.) 






CHAPTER IV 


THE MILLENNIAL REIGN 

A N important feature of the millennial teaching is 
that at His second coming, Christ will reign as king 
in Jerusalem for a thousand years. It is from this that 
they derive their name millennium, which is a compound 
of two Latin words, mUle thousand, and annus year. 
The key passage of scripture upon which they base their 
theory is, “ Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the 
first resurrection: on such the second death hath no 
pow r er, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, 
and shall reign with him a thousand years.” (Rev. 
% 0 : 6 .) 

The idea of the saints living on this earth for a 
thousand years, arrests one’s attention. It is very dif¬ 
ficult to think of men and women continuing an earthly 
existence, through summer’s heat and winter’s snows, 
in an unbroken succession of one thousand calendar 
years. We are reminded, however, that the saints 
who thus reign with Christ, are those who have entered 
upon the resurrection life, and are possessed of spiritual 
bodies. “ It is sown a natural body; it is raised a 
spiritual body.” (1 Cor. 15:44.) But according to 
the millennial theory, those people with spiritual bodies 
will live in a natural world. This earth will still retain 
its physical features. Of course they say it will be 
purified, and made conformable to the life of spiritual 
beings. This would be a marvellous transformation. 
Just how spiritual beings may be able to fit into the 
physical conditions of this world, or how this earth may 

43 


44 


The Kingdom and Coming of Christ 


be transformed into a spiritual paradise for the risen 
saints is not revealed. We are assured, however, that 
God is going to do it and “ with God all things are 
possible.” This latter statement must be accepted with 
some reservation, because God cannot do an irrational 
thing, and maintain the balance of his deity, any more 
than He can do an immoral act and remain a holy God. 
It is quite irrational to devise a fanciful scheme, and 
then present as the outstanding proof of its possibility 
the misappropriated statement of Jesus, “ With God 
all things are possible.” It is a very heavy strain on 
one’s intelligence to accept this scheme on evidence of 
that character. But the proof of the millennialists is in 
the prophecy, “ There will be new heavens and a new 
earth.” (2 Pet. 3:13.) Even so, according to their 
interpretation, these will be still physical and subject 
to the physical laws of this solar system. They protest 
against the spiritualization of the prophecies, and in¬ 
sist that all these predictions must be taken literally. 
If that means anything at all, it means that this earth 
will still remain a physical planet subject to physical 
laws; that the nations of the earth will still remain or¬ 
ganized political sovereignties; that Jerusalem, the cap¬ 
ital city, will be a material city; the old material city of 
David, and the throne of David, will be the material 
political seat of Israel’s sovereignty which David 
founded in the Holy City on Mount Zion; and that the 
restoration of the Jews to Palestine will be the regath¬ 
ering of the people of Israel as a physical people re¬ 
turning to the home land from which they were driven 
by the invasions of the enemy nations. Just how the 
risen saints with spiritual bodies will fit into these ma¬ 
terial and physicial conditions, does not appear, and 
there are no attempted explanations for this strange 




The Millennial Reign 45 

system. Yet it is impossible to escape this irrational 
situation if the exclusively literal interpretation of the 
millennialists is to be maintained. The dilemma is en¬ 
tirely of their own creation. 

Rather than dismiss the theory of the thousand years 
at this point, we will examine the premises upon which 
the millennialists base their conclusions. They have 
an ingenious method of computing the prophetic num¬ 
bers of the Old Testament, especially the number seven 
and the term week, which so frequently appear in the 
Levitical law and the predictions of the prophets. 
Here is a sample of their reasoning: 

Upon this sacred rock of sevens we can consistently, with 
the Jews, base our conclusion that we have the scriptural 
week, week of weeks, week of months, week of years, week 
of seventy years, week of times, week of olams or aions 
(ages), so we also have the great week of milleniums, or 
blessed seventh thousand years of rest. This scriptural 
doctrine of the millenium cannot be shaken, its root is in 
the Sabbath of Genesis, and its fruit is the thousand year 
kingdom of Revelation. (Jesus Is Coming, W. E. B., page 
39.) 

Undoubtedly the sacred number seven in its scrip¬ 
tural use is an interesting study, but we can well af¬ 
ford to hesitate before accepting this writer’s dog¬ 
matic conclusion. If the week and weeks or aions or 
ages and millenniums denote definite periods of time 
which are clearly defined in the scriptures, there ought 
to be very little difficulty in reaching an agreement 
upon fixed dates. Given definite mathematical data 
as a basis of calculation, and a consistent method of 
reckoning, such as these writers claim to possess, the 
results ought to work out with the exact mathematical 
precision of the rotation of the planets. But even the 




46 


The Kingdom and Coming of Christ 


millennialists, with all their vaunted skill in prophetic 
interpretation and certainty of chronological data, are 
unable to agree on “ the times and seasons which the 
Lord hath placed in His own power.” Some, basing 
their calculations upon the “ rock of the sacred sevens,” 
were certain they had discovered the exact date when 
Christ would come a second time. William Miller, who 
began to preach the Second Advent in 1831 a. d., pre¬ 
dicted the coming of Christ in 1843. He said, “ I be¬ 
lieve the time can be known by all who desire to under¬ 
stand and be ready for His coming, and I am fully con¬ 
vinced that sometime between March 21st, 1843, a. d., 
and March 21st, 1844, a. d., according to the Jewish 
mode of computation of time, Christ will come, and 
bring all His saints with Him; and then He will reward 
every man according to his works.” 

So certain were the disciples of William Miller that 
the end of the world was at hand the farmers among 
them did not do their planting, all suspended their ( 
work, and at the specified time gathered at selected 
places to wait for their Lord’s return. Great was the 
disappointment when nothing unusual occurred and they 
had to return to their earthly cares and toils. But 
Mr. Miller was not disheartened. He reviewed his cal¬ 
culations and discovered to his satisfaction, and the 
great relief of his followers that he had made a mistake. 
The advent was to be a year later. Again prepara¬ 
tions were made for the great meeting in the air. But 
the time of expectation passed and they were still of 
the earth earthy, and cumbered with much serving. 
Since 1844, many dates have been set, followed only 
by as many grievous disappointments. 

The latest adventurer, who made bold to take 
chances on fixing dates, was Pastor Russell of Millen- 




The Millennial Reign 


47 


nial Dawn fame. He worked out the problem of u the 
sacred sevens ” to his perfect satisfaction and the grati¬ 
fication of his followers. He was absolutely certain 
that Christ would come to set up His kingdom and in¬ 
augurate His millennial reign in 1914. (Pastor Rus¬ 
sell’s books: Thy Kingdom Come y page 23; The Time Is 
at Hand , page 75.) This date is now well in the past 
and as yet there is no evidence that Satan is bound, 
and that the returned Lord is ruling the world with 
His risen saints. The ingenious explanations advanced 
by the followers of Russell to avoid the dilemma into 
which the utter failure of their predictions have placed 
them, cannot dispose of the fact that their date for 
the dawn of the millennium was 1914, and their prophe¬ 
cies have not been fulfilled in any sense. 

The folly of attempting to fix definite dates has been 
made so vexatious by the many disappointments that 
the more conservative millennialists strongly deprecate 
any effort to appoint the times and seasons. They 
wisely accept the caution of Jesus, “No man knoweth 
the day nor the hour wherein the son of man cometh.” 
And yet, they persistently maintain that they can 
consistently and safely base their millennial theory 
upon “ the rock of the sacred sevens ” and the thou¬ 
sand year periods. They are sure that the prophetic 
days, weeks, and years are to be taken symbolically for 
definite periods of time which work out the millennium 
with mathematical correctness. They apparently see 
no inconsistency when insisting that the prophecies 
themselves must be interpreted literally, and yet the 
sacred numbers involved in those prophecies must be 
given a figurative meaning. In working out their cal¬ 
culations, they are unanimous in the conviction that of 
the week of millenniums, six days have already elapsed 




48 


The Kingdom and Coming of Christ 


since the beginning of human history, and that the be¬ 
ginning of the seventh is now due. These are reck¬ 
oned as six days of labor, which are now closing, and 
“ the blessed seventh the thousand years of rest, the 
Sabbath of the millennium, which is now at hand.” Is 
not this an attempt to fix dates ? 

If they have certain data, as they claim, it is only 
reasonable to expect that they should be able with some 
degree of accuracy to fix a definite date when this 
“ Blessed Millennium ” will begin. But every attempt 
to fix a date based upon “ this rock ” of computation 
has been very disappointing. These repeated failures 
raise a question as to the solidity of the rock upon 
which these calculations are founded. They suggest 
to minds not confirmed in millennialism, that the sup¬ 
posed “ sacred rock 99 is only a shifting sand-bar of 
speculative hypotheses. They at least give justifica¬ 
tion for a demand for more definite proof that the 
sacred number seven , and the term week were divinely 
intended to teach the theory which is forced upon them 
by millennial theorists. 

History is appealed to as corroborative evidence of 
the correctness of the interpretation. Quite an array 
of authorities are quoted to show that millennarians 
have flourished from the beginning of Christianity. 
This, however, does not prove the correctness of the 
theory. From the beginning of Christianity, men flour¬ 
ished who denied the divinity of Jesus. There are 
many to this day who believe that Jesus was not the 
Messiah but an impostor, basing their conviction upon 
the teaching of the chief priests and rulers of the Jews 
who secured His crucifixion as a malefactor. When we 
bear in mind that the central idea of the Jews regard¬ 
ing the messianic kingdom, was political, that the Jews 




The Millennial Reign 


49 


formed the nucleus of the Christian church, and that in 
spite of the vision of Peter on the house top, the Jeru¬ 
salem council and the teaching of Paul, a strong sec¬ 
tion of the first Christians clung tenaciously to Judaism, 
it is not at all strange to find that from the beginning 
there have been Christians who held to the Rabbinical 
teaching that the kingdom of God must be a political 
kingdom under the reign of the Messiah. After the 
destruction of Jerusalem the Judaizing Christians 
looked for the restoration of Israel, and the reestab¬ 
lishment of the throne of David. These people, whose 
national convictions were so deeply entrenched, would 
naturally cling to the literal interpretation of the 
prophets taught by the Rabbins. The apocalyptical 
references of John to the thousand years’ reign with 
Christ, were accepted by these literalists as applying 
to the expected Messianic kingdom. At the close of 
the first thousand years, there was a great revival of 
millennial teaching, based upon “ the thousand year 
periods.” A full period of gospel history was rounded 
out. Certainly, now was the time of the closing of the 
gospel dispensation, and the beginning of the millennial 
age. The millennialists made the very most of the 
time to impress their arguments upon the church, and 
the teaching awakened the spirit of expectancy. Many 
were converted to the millennial theory. Time rolled 
away and the millennium did not come. Century after 
century passed, and the Lord failed to make His ap¬ 
pearance in the air. Nearly another thousand years 
has rolled into history, and yet the Lord delayeth His 
coming. These failures are presumptive evidence that 
there is a radical error in the theory of the thousand 
year periods. Still, the millennialists hold to their 
theories with remarkable pertinacity. Every time 






50 


The Kingdom and Coming of Christ 


history refutes their predictions, like William Miller 
and Pastor Russell, they review their data, present 
novel excuses that restore the confidence of their fol¬ 
lowers, shift their ground a little to adjust them¬ 
selves to the new demands of the passing centuries 
and continue their millennarian prophesying, with all 
the exclusive dogmatism of the past. During the last 
twenty-five years we have witnessed a great revival of 
these predictions based on the thousand year periods, 
and the failure of these prophecies. Still the millennial 
teachers are not abashed. They continue their prophe¬ 
sying with unabated zeal, and assure us that the mis¬ 
calculations of the past have been finally corrected, and 
44 this scriptural doctrine of the millennium cannot be 
shaken.” 

Just how they reconcile the mathematical discrepan¬ 
cies in their calculations does not appear, but despite 
the failure of former predictions they hold tenaciously 
to the thousand year periods, 64 seven of which make a 
complete number.” According to their reckoning, the 
thousands begin with the completion of creation, which 
means the beginning of human history. Accepting 
Ussher’s chronology of the Bible, six thousand years 
have passed, which mark six distinct periods, a thousand 
years each. They are at considerable pains to show 
that some great epochal event took place at the closing 
of each period. The next thousand years being the 
seventh making the complete number must be the mil¬ 
lennium. The position is thus authoritatively stated, 
44 Six thousand days of labor have passed; we are now to 
enter upon the blessed seventh thousand years of rest.” 
{Jesus is Coming , W. E. B., p. 39.) 

The starting point of Ussher’s chronology is the 
birth of Christ. We are now in the twentieth century, 




The Millennial Reign 


51 


designated Anno Domini , “ the year of our Lord.” 
Previous to the birth of Christ, the time is marked, 
b. c. According to this reckoning human history be¬ 
gan four thousand years before Christ. It is worthy 
of note that of the six thousand years of human history 
according to this inflexible reasoning, two thousand of 
them have been since the birth of Christ. 

Think of it! Two thousand years since the Roman 
Caesar ruled the world, and only four thousand years of 
human history preceding that time. Is there any proof 
that this chronology is correct? If the starting point 
cannot be fixed with mathematical precision, the calcu¬ 
lations must remain uncertain. If the premises are un¬ 
sound, the conclusions are invalid. It is now generally 
accepted that the chronology of the Patriarchal period 
is unreliable. There are evident inaccuracies in its cal¬ 
culations, and the date of the beginning must go far¬ 
ther back into antiquity. The most conservative and 
orthodox biblical critics maintain that the beginning 
of human history must be many thousand years earlier 
than Bishop Ussher indicates. The seventh thousand, 
therefore, would be more likely to have commenced with 
the birth of Jesus than with the twentieth century, and 
we may be in the twentieth thousand years of human 
history. We cannot escape the conviction that the 
millennialist calculations are chronologically unsound, 
and the conclusions logically fallacious. 

Some may protest, “ If we cannot believe the Bible 
in regard to the time of its events, then what can we 
believe? We must accept the statements of the Word 
of God.” But the Bible does not say that Adam and 
Eve were created just four thousand years before the 
birth of Jesus. Neither does the Bible give us any 
sure data of the prehistoric period by which we can 





52 


The Kingdom and Coming of Christ 


work out a reliable chronology. It is not divine in¬ 
spiration that is in question, but human calculations. 
Dr. Melvin Grove Kyle, lecturer of Biblical Archaeology, 
Xenia Theological Seminary, Ohio, one of the most con¬ 
servative writers, says in regard to the passing away 
of the old, and generally accepted system of Biblical 
chronology: 

The history of the race and the evidence from the debris 
of ruined cities imperatively demand more time than that 
theory of the chronology of the world allows, and the vast 
number of dates produced by archaeological inscriptions and 
manuscripts show beyond question that the chronology of 
that age was not constructed with the mathematical rigid¬ 
ity of the nautical almanac. ... In the light of research 
into antiquity, the rigidity of the astronomical theory of 
chronology must give way to a more flexible system in 
keeping with the days when there were no clocks or alma¬ 
nacs and the people did not think in the terms of these 
later inventions. (Kyle’s The Deciding Voice of the Mon¬ 
uments in Biblical Criticism, pp. 77-78.) 

These facts make it clear that we have no ground for 
assuming that the beginning of the twentieth century 
was the beginning of the seventh thousand year period. 
As a matter of fact, if Ussher’s chronology is accepted 
the beginning of the twentieth century would not be the 
beginning of the seven thousandth year. Twenty full 
centuries are needed to make two thousand years. 
Therefore, in any case the beginning of the seven thou¬ 
sandth year will not be until the beginning of the twen¬ 
ty-first century. 

There is another line of reckoning by which the day 
of the Lord is determined. Days and weeks are to be 
taken symbolically. Here they break with the theory 
of exact literalism, and take refuge in the figurative. 




The Millennial Reign 


53 


In this symbolic language of prophecy, a day is to be 
taken for a year. Just why the prophecies must be so 
interpreted, is not clear. The Bible does not say so 
much. It seems to be the conjectural hypothesis of 
those who feel they must make out a case. This reck¬ 
oning formed the basis of the Adventism of William 
Miller. He reasoned that the twenty-three hundred 
days of Daniel represented an era of so many years. 
(Dan. 8: 13, 14.) This era began with the return of 
Ezra in the year 457 b. c. Reckoning a day for a year, 
these days would expire in 1843 a. d. Just 2300 years. 
Therefore, this was the time, according to the Advent¬ 
ists, that the Son of man would come to cleanse the world 
and begin His millennial reign. There was evidently a 
serious mistake somewhere. It may be safe to con¬ 
clude that the prophet did not intend a day to be taken 
for a year. 

Those millennialists who repudiate the attempt to 
fix exact days, have 44 a more sure word of prophecy.” 
They have carefully reviewed the chronology of the 
Bible and have discovered that a prophetic day, in¬ 
stead of meaning a year, means a thousand years. 
Therefore, 44 the day of the Lord ” covers an exact 
thousand calendar years. If this were applied to 
Daniel’s prophecy, mentioned above, it would mean that 
2,300,000 years must elapse between the revival of 
Ezra and the second coming of Christ. That would 
mean that there are yet 2,297,700 years to elapse be¬ 
fore 44 the Son of man comes in his glory and all the 
holy angels with him.” (Matt. 25:31.) And yet we 
are told that the millennial reign is now due, and about 
to begin. There are, however, we are assured, clear 
scriptural statements that 44 with God a day is a thou¬ 
sand years.” Does not the Psalmist say, 44 For a thou- 





54 


The Kingdom and Coming of Christ 


sand years are but as yesterday when it is past and as 
a watch in the night ”? (Psa. 90. 4.) It certainly re¬ 
quires a dexterous word juggler to bend this passage to 
support the millennial contention. The meaning is so 
clear that it is a very bold person, or a blind one, who 
would attempt to fit it into the millennial system. The 
Psalmist was simply emphasizing the fact that to God, 
44 who is from everlasting to everlasting,” time is not 
reckoned by days and years. To Plim 44 a thousand 
years are but as a watch in the night.” Sleep through 
those hours of the night darkness, with no timepiece at 
hand, and then think of estimating the number of 
minutes you have spent in silent slumber. That is what 
a thousand years are like to God. Do you grasp it? 

There is another passage that is appealed to as 
giving definite instruction that 64 the day of the Lord ” 
is a thousand years. 44 But, beloved, be not ignorant 
of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a 
thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.” 
(2 Pet. 3:8.) To the millennarians this settles the 
question. It is conclusive. But if Peter intended to 
give an infallible canon for reckoning prophetic time, 
he went at it in a very vague and roundabout way. It 
looks as though he were trying to conceal, rather than 
reveal, a method of determining dates. He does not 
say that in determining the time of the coming of the 
Lord, one day is equivalent to a thousand years. Such 
a thing is not hinted. There were scoffers, walking 
after their own lusts who were saying, 44 Where is the 
promise of His coming? for since the fathers fell 
asleep, all things continue as they were from the begin¬ 
ning of creation.” (2 Pet. 3: 3, 4.) The time seemed 
long, and this was used against the apostle’s teaching. 
Peter undertook to enlighten them by the fact that God 




The Millennial Reign 


55 


does not measure time by days and years as men do. 
“ One day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a 
thousand years as one day.” He simply means that, 
“ All time is as nothing before God, because in the 
presence as in the nature of God, all is eternity; there¬ 
fore nothing is long, nothing is short before Him; no 
lapse of ages impairs His purpose. And when the long¬ 
est period is passed, it is but as a moment or indivisible 
point in comparison with eternity.” (A. Clark’s Com¬ 
mentary. ) 

Surely they labor in vain, who pervert the meaning 
of the apostle to secure support for the dogma that 
“ the day of the Lord ” and “ the day of Judgment ” 
represent a definite period of one thousand calendar 
years. A cause that is reduced to such straits is cer¬ 
tainly lost. 

The one passage to which all millennialists pin their 
faith is the vision of John on Patmos: 

And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the 
key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. 
And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is 
the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years. 
And cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and 
set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no 
more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after 
that he must be loosed a little season. And I saw thrones 
and they that sat upon them, and judgment was given unto 
them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for 
the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which 
had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither 
had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their 
hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand 
years. But the rest of the dead lived not again until the 
thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrec¬ 
tion. Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first 
resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but 






56 


The Kingdom and Coming of Christ 


they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign 
with him a thousand years. (Rev. 20: 1-6.) 

This apocalyptic vision is given a strictly literal in¬ 
terpretation. On this literalism a very elaborate 
scheme is worked out giving a detailed program of the 
eschatological operations of the returned Christ that 
admits of no variations. The scene of the drama is on 
the earth, with Jerusalem as the capital city. Satan is 
bound for a thousand years in the bottomless pit, so 
that he can neither tempt people to evil, nor oppose the 
saving operations of the returned Lord. During this 
thousand years, Jesus will reign at Jerusalem and ex¬ 
tend His kingdom over all the nations of the earth. 
His sovereign power will be so absolute that no one 
will be able to oppose the divine will or reject the sav¬ 
ing power of God. Then the world will be saved, and 
all peoples, kindreds and tribes will be brought into the 
kingdom of God by virtue of triumphant divine power. 
Faith will play little or no part in this salvation because 
faith will have given place to sight. Man will have no 
power to disbelieve, and all men will be saved. The 
risen saints will be the agents and evangelists of 
Christ to save the world, and “ They shall live and reign 
with Him a thousand years.” At the close of this thou¬ 
sand years, Satan is loosed from his chains and prison, 
and given liberty to go out, yea, he “ shall go out to 
deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the 
earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together for 
battle: the number of whom is as the sand of the sea.” 
(Rev. 20:8.) Then shall there be tribulation on the 
earth such as was never known before, Satan will be 
supreme. 

This is a very bare outline of the program the mil- 




The Millennial Reign 


57 


lennialists have arranged for the millennial reign of 
Christ. The elaborate and intricate details are so at¬ 
tractively painted that their brilliant colouring is 
liable to hold the attention, and prevent the reader from 
seeing the picture in the true perspective. 

According to this teaching, Christ is now unable to 
overcome the power of Satan, because His kingdom is 
not yet established on the earth. When He comes a 
second time He will be clothed with full regal power. 
Then He will bind Satan with chains, and throw him 
into the bottomless pit where he will have no power 
over men. Having obtained this victory, He will rule 
supremely in the world without let or hindrance, for a 
thousand years. Then comes the great surprise! 
Satan is loosed out of his prison, Christ has either ex¬ 
hausted His power, is conquered by the old serpent 
whom he had kept bound in the pit for a thousand years, 
or He voluntarily steps aside and gives the devil free¬ 
dom to deceive the world, and destroy all the good work 
that had been done during the “ blessed millennium of 
rest.” However this loosing of Satan, in the millen¬ 
nial scheme, may be explained it is not very creditable 
to an all victorious Lord. If it is merely the working 
out of “ the divine plan of the ages,” the wisdom and 
goodness of the one who worked out the plan is not to 
be admired. 

When the Lord has the devil so bound that he can 
neither touch nor tempt men, and for a thousand years 
the world is kept in this glorious state of peace, holi¬ 
ness, and effulgent glory, why would the Lord, the 
Omnipotent Sovereign, set Satan at liberty to destroy 
all His good work and make the world a worse place 
than it ever was before the thousand years of millennial 
glory began? 




58 


The Kingdom and Coming of Christ 


When the devil is loosed from his prison, whom will 
he deceive? The passage says, “The nations which 
are in the four corners of the earth.” But under the 
millennial scheme, all these nations will be converted 
and under the glorious reign of Jesus. Will Jesus 
abdicate His throne in favor of the devil? Will Jesus 
after He has conquered the nations, overthrown Satan, 
“ all ungodly government and lawlessness, and estab¬ 
lished a kingdom in righteousness, having the church 
with Himself as sovereign, Jerusalem as the capital, 
regathered and converted Israel as the center, and all 
nations included in a universal world wide kingdom of 
pure and blessed government,” (Jesus is Coming , W. 
E. B., page 37)—will the all conquering Jesus after 
such a universal and absolute conquest, loose the bands 
of Satan and step aside for him to destroy all this 
glorious work, and throw the world into greater chaos 
and sin and tribulation than was ever known in the 
worst period of its history? Surely, there is something 
seriously wrong in the interpretation of the Apocatypse, 
that runs the “ blessed millennium of rest ” into such a 
cataclysm of disaster and tribulation. Is it possible 
that after the nations are so wondrously saved from 
the power of Satan that the conquering Christ will 
abdicate His throne in favor of the devil and turn over 
the nations to him to be deceived and destroyed? 
Shall these nations that had been saved, be surrendered 
by Jesus to be ravished by sin and excess, and made to 
suffer indescribable tribulation? What reason can be 
given for such an abdication of power, and withdrawal 
of divine protection? If Christ by the exercise of 
omnipotent, irresistible power, in His millennial reign, 
puts Satan in chains and hurls him “ into the bottom¬ 
less pit, so that he should deceive the nations no more,” 




The Millennial Reign 


59 


why does He not keep him there forever? The literal 
interpretation of the promise of the angel to the Virgin 
Mary makes this necessary. Such a literal interpreta¬ 
tion of this apocalyptic vision would make the All-wise 
God either a fool or a fiend. 

Furthermore, according to such a literal interpreta¬ 
tion, the saints and martyrs for the witness of Jesus, 
would have only this period of a thousand years in 
which to 44 live and reign with Christ ” in undisturbed 
peace and safety. After waiting somewhere, presum¬ 
ably in their graves, for thousands of years for this 
blessed millennium to begin, they can only hope for one 
thousand years of unbroken calm and quiet with their 
glorified Lord. For when Satan is loosed out of his 
chains, the saints and martyrs are exposed to the trials 
and tribulations inflicted by the infuriated devil, who 
has been granted his release. The promise to them 
is of only 44 a thousand years’ reign with Christ.” 
Surely, the gospel of Jesus Christ and His perfect sal¬ 
vation has a more rational, consistent, and glorious 
future to offer the faithful saints and martyrs than this 
theory of the millennial reign promises us. 

We turn to a more careful study of the Book of Reve¬ 
lation, and find that these thousand year passages ap¬ 
pear in the midst of the most exalted figures of speech 
and apocalyptic imagery of all biblical literature. In 
fact, the whole book of the Revelation of St. John the 
Divine is a connected series of sacred figures based 
upon the apocalyptic and prophetic writings of the 
Jews. The enigmatical language of the book has been 
a favorite hunting ground for all sorts of religious ad¬ 
venturers, in search of proof for some freak religious 
notion. Nearly every canon of exegesis is violated in 
the arbitrary efforts to make the teaching of Revela- 




60 


The Kingdom and Coming of Christ 


tion support a chosen dogma. The most absurd and 
contradictory schemes are urged as the plan of God 
for the government of the world, and the salvation of 
men. We are perfectly safe, however, in assuming that 
any interpretation that throws this book out of har¬ 
mony with the clear, definite, and unmistakable teaching 
of the law of God and the gospel of Jesus Christ, is 
wrong. 

Having imposed these strictures, one might look for 
a lucid and consistent interpretation of this passage 
that will harmonize with the plain teaching of Jesus 
and the apostles as given in the gospels and epistles of 
the New Testament. One does well to approach an 
interpretation of this book with hesitancy. It is, to 
say the least, very difficult to get a perfectly consistent 
interpretation, because its imagery belongs to a period 
long past, and we have no certain key to unlock all its 
mysteries. Dr. Adam Clark, one of the most scholarly 
and careful commentators the world has ever known, 
does not attempt to interpret the Revelation. After 
giving an outline of the various interpretations by 
eminent scholars, he thus explains his own position: 

My readers will naturally expect that I should either 
give a decided preference to some one of the opinions stated 
above, or produce one of my own; I can do neither, nor 
can I explain the book; I do not understand it; and in 
things that concern so sublime a subject, I dare not as my 
predecessors indulge in conjecture. I have read elaborate 
works on the subject, and each seemed right until another 
was examined. I am satisfied that no certain mode of in¬ 
terpreting the prophecies of this book has been found out, 
and I will not add another monument to the littleness or 
folly of the human mind by endeavoring to strike out a new 
course. I repeat it, I do not understand the book; and I 
am certain that no one who has written on the subject 
knows anything more of it than myself. . . . Shall I have 




The Millennial Reign 


61 


the reader’s pardon if I say that it is my firm opinion that 
the expositions of this book have done great disservice 
to religion? Almost every commentator has become a 
prophet; for as soon as he began to explain he began to 
prophesy. And what has been the issue? Disappointment 
laughed at hope*s career, and superficial thinkers have been 
led to despise and reject prophecy itself. (A. Clark’s 
Commentary, Preface of Revelation.) 

Dr. Clark presents the opinions of other commenta¬ 
tors with such explanations and safeguards as tend to 
protect the student and avoid the idle prophecies and 
disastrous conjectures that mar the work of others. 
When he reaches these thousand year passages he says: 

In what this binding of Satan consists who can tell? 
How many visions have been seen on this subject both in 
ancient and modern times! This and what is said in verses 
3, 4, and 5, no doubt refer to a time in which the influence 
of Satan will be greatly restrained, and the true church 
of God enjoy great prosperity which shall endure for a 
long time. But it is not likely the number, a thousand 
years, is to be taken literally here, and a year symbolically 
and figuratively in all the book beside. The doctrine of 
the millennium, or of the saints’ reigning on earth, a thou¬ 
sand years, with Christ for their head, has been illustrated, 
and defended by many Christian writers, both among the 
ancients and the moderns. Were I to give a collection of 
the primitive fathers on this subject, ray readers would have 
little reason to applaud my pains. It has long been the 
idle expectation of many persons, that the millennium in 
their sense, was at hand; and its commencement has been 
expected in every century since the Christian era. It has 
been fixed for several different years during the short period 
of my life. I believed those predictions to be vain and 
have lived to see them such. Yet there is no doubt the 
earth is in a state of progressive moral improvement; and 
that the light of true religion is shining more and more 
copiously everywhere, and will shine more and more unto 
the perfect day. But when the reign of Christ will be 





62 


The Kingdom and Coming of Christ 


at its meridian of light and heat we know not. In each 
believer this may speedily take place; but probably no such 
time will ever appear in which evil will be wholly banished 
from the earth: till the day of Judgment. (A. Clark’s 
Commentary, Rev. 20: 1-8.) 

In reference to the martyred saints who “ lived and 
reigned with Christ a thousand years,” he says, “ I 
am satisfied that this period should not be taken lit¬ 
erally. It may signify that there shall be a long and 
undisturbed state of Christianity, and so universally 
shall the gospel spirit prevail that it will appear as if 
Christ reigned upon the earth; which will in effect be 
the case, because His spirit shall rule in the hearts of 
men, and in this time the martyrs are represented as 
living again; their testimony being revived, and the 
truth for which they died, and which was confirmed be¬ 
ing now everywhere prevalent. As to the term, a 
thousand years, it is a mystic term among the Jews.” 
(A. Clark’s Commentary , Rev. 20:4.) 

It will be observed that these comments are pre¬ 
sented, not as a certain, but as a tentative explanation 
of these figurative passages, but they have the merit of 
recognizing the difficulties in the way of certain knowl¬ 
edge, and of not running counter to the gospel prin¬ 
ciple and plan of world evangelism, and personal reli¬ 
gious experience. Throughout, Dr. Clark holds firmly 
to the figurative character of the apocalypse, and main¬ 
tains that the “ thousand years ” is not to be taken lit¬ 
erally, but as a mystical number must be considered as 
a figure of speech or symbol, and not as indicating a 
definite period of time. 

In harmony with this opinion, we may quote a living 
scholar of prominence, Dr. Alfred Faulkner, Professor 
of Historical Theology, Drew Theological Seminary, 




The Millennial Reign 


63 


Madison, New Jersey. In an article in the Christian 
Advocate , New York, he says: 

The book of Revelation is a book of symbols and figures, 
made intentionally thus in order to hide its meaning from 
the pagans while heartening and comforting the believers 
during the persecutions of Nero, or Domitian, or of both, 
and has distinct relations to its own times. It may also 
rest in part upon Jewish Apocalypses. We have to be sure 
both of the surface meaning of its symbolism and of the 
inner spiritual kernel of the symbolism before we can do 
anything. To attain that we need an infallibility besides 
which history shows the papal to be feeble and erring. 

These quotations from such eminent and candid 
scholars emphasize the insuperable difficulties in the 
way of arriving at any consistent and conclusive in¬ 
terpretation of this apocalyptical and enigmatical 
book. Therefore, any attempt to force upon these 
figurative expressions a literal interpretation, and to 
use them for dogmatic purposes is subversive of the 
cause of truth. 

The suggestion of Prof. Faulkner regarding the 
character and intention of the book is very plausible. 
It is difficult to credit the idea that John the Divine 
was given an outline program of the history of the 
world to the end of time. He was in the midst of a 
severe persecution that was ravaging the church, as a 
result of which he was suffering banishment on the Isle 
of Patmos. It is very reasonable that he would write 
a book for the times “ to hearten and encourage be¬ 
lievers.” But to do so he must avoid adding fuel to 
the fury of the pagan persecutors. This could only 
be done by writing, as it were, in code. This code he 
found in the apocalyptic imagery of Jewish literature. 
Under this imagery he describes the conditions and ex- 





64 


The Kingdom and Coming of Christ 


periences then prevailing as the binding of Satan, and 
reigning with Christ. 

The thousand years being a mystical number de¬ 
mands a mystical interpretation. Dr. Whedon gives 
a clue that leads to a reasonable explanation. He 
says, 44 The thousand years is a symbol. We have the 
number of universality — ten — raised to a cube.” 
(Whedon’s Commentary.) Ten is the Jewish mystical 
number of universality, three is the number of complete¬ 
ness or perfection. One thousand is ten raised to the 
third power. When universality is raised to the third 
power of perfection, do we not have absoluteness? 
Suppose we substitute and read the passage, 44 And he 
laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the 
devil and Satan, and bound him absolutely.” 44 And 
they lived and reigned with Christ absolutely.” This 
has the merit of being consistent with the general teach¬ 
ing of Jesus and the apostles regarding the effect of 
divine grace in saving man from sin and giving him a 
complete victory over Satan. The expression, 44 And 
after that he shall be loosed a little season,” seems to 
present an obstacle to this interpretation, but, this is 
more apparent than real. According to the gospel 
teaching of salvation, the victory over sin and Satan is 
won through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Those 
who remain in unbelief, remain under the dominion of 
Satan. Those who leave their first love, and 44 return 
again to the weak and beggarly elements of the world,” 
are delivered unto Satan again. In order to carry out 
the symbolism it would be natural to describe this state 
of backsliding as the loosing of Satan, and the language 
of Revelation would be most appropriate for the pur¬ 
pose. 1 

iThe Expositor’s Bible gives a detailed exposition along this 
line that is worthy of careful study. 




The Millennial Reign 


65 


Here it may be well to quote a few of the many pas¬ 
sages of scripture that literally express this teaching of 
the gospel. Jesus and the chosen disciples are in the 
upper room, at the paschal supper. A deep gloom had 
settled upon them because Jesus had announced His 
death and separation from them for a little while. 
Jesus then gives them the great assurance, 44 Be of good 
cheer; I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33.) 
He said also, “ The prince of this world cometh and 
hath nothing in me.” (John 14:30.) On a previous 
occasion Jesus said, “ Now is the judgment of this 
world; now shall the prince of this world be cast out.” 
(John 12: 31.) John, the author of the book of Reve¬ 
lation, in his first letter to the Christian believers, 
wrote: 44 Ye are of God little children and have over¬ 
come them, for greater is he that is in you than he 
that is in the world.” (1 John 4:4.) Also, 44 For 
whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and 
this is the victory that overcometh the world, even your 
faith. Who is he that overcometh the world but he 
that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God? . . . We 
know that whosoever is born of God sinneth not; but 
he that is begotten of God keepeth himself and that 
wicked one toucheth him not.” (1 John 5:4, 5, 18.) 
Can that mean anything less than that Satan is bound 
so that he cannot touch the soul of him that be¬ 
lieveth in Jesus? 44 For this purpose the Son of God 
was manifest that He might destroy the works of the 
devil.” (1 John 3:8.) It is worthy of note that the 
apostle uses the past tense. He does not say, 44 Will 
be manifest,” as if looking for a coming again to bind 
Satan, but 44 was manifest.” The victory over Satan 
was accomplished when Jesus made the great sacrifice 
on Calvary, and overcame death and the grave. This 





66 


The Kingdom and Coming of Christ 


note of triumphant victory rings strongly and clearly 
throughout the New Testament, but gets a full expres¬ 
sion in this comprehensive passage of Paul: 

Who shall lay anything to the charge of God’s elect? 
It is God that justifieth. Who is he that condemneth? 
It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who 
is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh interces¬ 
sion for us. Who shall separate us from the love of 
Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or 
famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written, 
For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are ac¬ 
counted as sheep for the slaughter. Nay in all these things 
we are more than conquerors through Him that loved us. 
For I am persuaded, that neither death nor life, nor angels, 
nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor 
things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other crea¬ 
ture, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, 
which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Rom. 8: 33—39.) 

This spirit of triumph dominated the thought and 
feeling of the apostles. This confidence was not in a 
victory over Satan that was to come at some indefinite 
time in the future when Christ would establish an 
earthly kingdom, but a victory which they were then 
experiencing. This was the confidence of John when 
he transmitted from Patmos the messages of the glori¬ 
fied Jesus to the seven churches of Asia. “ To him 
that overcometh, will I give to eat of the tree of life.” 
(Rev. 2:7.) “ He that overcometh shall not be hurt 

of the second death.” (Rev. 2:11.) “ To him that 

overcometh will I give to eat of the hidden manna.” 
(Rev. 2:17.) “And he that overcometh and keepeth 
my works unto the end, to him will I give power over 
the nations.” (Rev. 2:26.) “He that overcometh, 
the same shall be clothed in white raiment.” (Rev. 
3:5.) “ Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in 




The Millennial Reign 


67 


the temple of my God.” (Rev. 3: 12.) “ To him that 

overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, 
even as I also overcame, and am set down with my 
Father in His throne.” (Rev. 3:21.) 

These promises are to the seven churches in Asia. 
Any one reading them in their connections must be 
impressed with the fact that the messenger was deal¬ 
ing with present conditions. Those to whom the prom¬ 
ises were made were in the midst of the conflict of this 
present evil world. They were called upon to obtain 
the victory right where they were. Any attempt to 
postpone the time of victory to a millennial reign, which, 
even to its advocates, is still in the unknown and indefi¬ 
nite future, is an unwarrantable violation of the divine 
messages. 

The victory described in all these passages, and 
many more of the same nature that might be cited, is 
not political or physical, but moral and spiritual. The 
victors might suffer violence and death at the hands of 
the world, and yet triumph most gloriously in soul and 
spirit. Thus it was that Jesus overcame Satan and 
the world. Satan could stir the envy of the Jews until 
they determined to secure His crucifixion. Satan could 
use an avaricious disciple to betray his Lord with a 
kiss, and Satan could work through the political ambi¬ 
tions and fears of a perfidious Roman Governor to 
execute the evil designs of the Chief Priests, but Satan 
could not touch the essential life of the Lord Jesus, 
nor sully His soul with one pulsation of evil thought or 
resentment. Neither could he so seal the tomb as to 
keep the Lord of glory confined in the grave. The 
apostle contemplating this triumph and its significance 
in the redemption of men and women, exclaimed, “ 0 
death, where is thy sting P 0 grave, where is thy vie- 





68 


The Kingdom and Coming of Christ 


toryp The sting of death is sin; and the strength 
of sin is the law. But thanks be to God which giveth us 
the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” (1 Cor. 
15:55-57.) 

As Satan was so bound that he could not touch the 
soul of the Lord Jesus, or rather could not inflict 
one injury upon His essential personality, even so is 
he unable to injure the soul of those who believe 
in Jesus unto salvation. Tribulation and persecution 
may be heaped upon them, even the death of the body 
may be their portion, but if they maintain their faith, 
they can defy the powers of Satan, and fall asleep in 
Jesus with that calm and peaceful spirit that character¬ 
ized the martyrdom of Stephen. (Acts 7:54—60.) 
This is certainly what Jesus meant, when sending out 
His disciples on their initial evangelistic mission He 
said unto them, “ Fear not them which kill the body, 
but are not able to kill the soul.” (Matt. 10: 28.) 

They cannot kill the soul because Satan and all his 
agencies are bound by the atoning and saving power of 
Christ. Therefore, the saints are safe, “ kept by the 
power of God unto salvation ready to be revealed in 
the last time.” (1 Pet. 1: 5.) 

A careful study of all the scriptures, therefore, com¬ 
pels the conclusion that there is not one clear passage 
which states, or even intimates, that Jesus shall reign 
on this earth as king over the nations for a thousand 
years, or any other period of time. The reign of 
Jesus is not political and temporal, but spiritual and 
eternal. His kingdom is already established in the 
world, and He rules through the piety and righteousness 
of His people. This reign of Jesus is being extended 
by the conversion of sinners and the development of the 
saints. This leaven of the kingdom of God will con- 




The Millennial Reign 


69 


tinue to work until the nations of the earth are brought 
under His divine sovereignty, and “ He shall have do¬ 
minion also from sea to sea, and from the river unto the 
ends of the earth.” (Psa. 72:8.) 




CHAPTER V 


THE REIGN OF JESUS 


LL Christians believe in the kingly office of Jesus. 



There is, however, a divergence of opinion as to 


the time and sphere of the Messianic reign. This di¬ 
vergence has appeared in the discussions of the preced¬ 
ing chapters. There it was shown that the millennial- 
ists’ conception is of an earthly kingdom with Jerusa¬ 
lem as the capital, and Jesus occupying the restored 
throne of David. The unscriptural and untenable 
character of that contention has been made clear. But 
there is another phase of this question that calls for 
special consideration. 

The millennialists maintain that when Jesus was born 
at Bethlehem of Judea, He came to assume His regal 
office and reign over the nations as supreme sovereign. 
But the world rebelled against Him, forcibly ejected 
Him, and compelled Him to return unto the Father, 
leave the prince of this world, Satan, as the owner and 
ruler of the nations, until the inefficiency of the gospel 
to save the world is fully demonstrated; then Christ will 
come a second time “ in glory and great power.” At 
this return, Jesus will bind Satan and cast him into the 
bottomless pit, take control of this world’s affairs, and 
from the throne of His father David, in Jerusalem, 
reign in person over all nations, and accomplish the 
world’s salvation. 

According to this theory, when Jesus was manifest in 
the flesh, and entered upon His divine ministry, He 
found Satan in control, and so strongly entrenched in 


70 


The Reign of Jesus 


71 


the world, that He could not overcome him, therefore 
His mission was a failure. The betrayal and cruci¬ 
fixion of Jesus was a forcible ejection from the world 
that He could not prevent. Therefore, the devil was 
the stronger. “ When a strong man armed keepeth his 
palace, his goods are in peace: but when a stronger than 
he shall come upon him, and overcome him, he taketh 
from him all his armour wherein he trusted, and divid- 
eth his spoils.” (Luke 11:21, 22.) Jesus made this 
statement to emphasize His claim that He was able to 
cast the devil out of the world even as He cast the devil 
out of the possessed people that were brought to Him. 
If the millennialists are right the Master was mistaken. 
He was not able to dispossess Satan and cast him out, 
but on the contrary Jesus Himself was overcome and 
cast out, leaving Satan in full possession of the world. 
In His helplessness, Jesus had to return unto the 
Father. He is now awaiting a favorable time and op¬ 
portunity when He can come again and successfully 
compete with the power of the devil. Then by the full 
exercise of sovereign power, He will overcome his 
satanic majesty, bind him in chains and put him in 
prison, and He will have a free hand to save the world. 

It is difficult to understand how such a grotesque 
presentation of the gospel can be accepted by intelli¬ 
gent readers of the scriptures. If Jesus can at any 
time in the sweep of the eternities overcome the devil 
and cast him out, why could He not do it when He said, 
“ All power is given unto me, in heaven, and in earth ” ? 
(Matt. 28: 18.) Why can He not do it now? If it is, 
or will be, possible for Jesus, at any time to save the 
world by “ might or by power,” why has He not been 
able to do so in the past? Why is He not able to do 
so now? If able, why does He not do it? Can it be 




72 


The Kingdom and Coming of Christ 


the deliberately worked out and inflexible plan of the 
All-wise and All-merciful God, that the world should be 
under the autocratic rule and dominion of Satan for 
thousands of years, while He reserves unto Himself the 
sovereign might suddenly to eject the enemy of all 
good, and by a sweep of glorious power to save the 
world from sin and all its awful consequences? To say 
that God, through Jesus, is able to save the world by 
the exercise of force at one period of the world’s devel¬ 
opment and not at another, is to impugn His divine 
Omnipotence. To say that at all times He can save 
the world by the might of His sovereign will, and yet 
He refrains, and does not, is to impugn His righteous¬ 
ness and justice. 

Did the world under the dominion of Satan so ef¬ 
fectually reject its Rightful King, that He was com¬ 
pelled to leave the enemy in potential and actual con¬ 
trol? Much of the fabric of the millennial theory 
hangs on an affirmative answer to this question. 

It is true that Jesus “ came unto His own and His 
own received Him not.” (John 1:11.) They deliv¬ 
ered up, denied and killed the Prince of Life. But was 
this action on the part of the Jews a demonstration of 
Satan’s superior power? or merely an evidence of the 
people’s perversity? Were they able to take by wicked 
hands, crucify, and slay the Prince of Life, because 
Jesus had not sufficient power to set their designs at 
naught, and prevent their wicked plans? Or was it 
because the plan of redemption through sacrificial 
atonement required that He should die at the hands of 
wicked men for the sins of the world? Surely, the 
cross and the grave give the divinest demonstration of 
the sovereign power of Jesus. There was nothing ac¬ 
cidental or casual in the tragedy of the cross. While 




The Reign of Jesus 


73 


on the one hand, it was the extreme expression of human 
perversity, on the other hand it was a method of ex¬ 
hausting human iniquity, and paying the ultimate pen¬ 
alty of the world’s sin. Jesus in “ His own self (vol¬ 
untarily), bore our sins in His own body on the tree, 
that we, being dead to sin, should live unto righteous¬ 
ness : by whose stripes we are healed.” (1 Pet. 1:24; 
Titus 2: 14.) In this self-surrender of Jesus, the devil 
suffered an overwhelming and decisive defeat. Listen 
to Peter on the day of Pentecost: 

Ye men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Naza¬ 
reth, a man approved of God among you by miracles and 
wonders and signs, which God did by Him in the midst of 
you, as ye yourselves also know: Him, being delivered by 
the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye 
have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain: 
Whom God hath raised up, having loosed the pains of 
death: because it was not possible that He should be holden 
of it. (Acts 2:22-24.) 

Can any one read that passage and not feel that it 
breathes forth the supreme will and sovereign power of 
God? It clearly intimates that even in the arrest and 
crucifixion, the divine power was supreme. 

God having determined that the salvation of a lost world 
should be brought about in this way: neither the Jews nor 
the Romans had any power here but what was given to 
them from above. It was necessary to show the Jews that 
it was not through Christ’s weakness or inability to defend 
himself that He was taken; nor was it through their malice 
merely that He was slain; for God had determined long 
before, from “ the foundation of the world” (Rev. 13:8), 
to give His son a sacrifice for sin; and the treachery of 
Judas, and the malice of the Jews were only the incidental 
means by which the great counsel of God was fulfilled: 
the counsel of God intended the sacrifice, but never ordered 




74 


The Kingdom and Coming of Christ 


that it should be brought about by such wretched means. 
This was permitted, that was decreed. (A. Clark’s Com¬ 
mentary .) 

When the Roman governor, Pilate, irritated because 
Jesus did not answer his questions, threateningly said, 
“ Knowest thou not that I have power to crucify thee, 
and I have power to release thee? ” Jesus answered, 
“ Thou couldst have no power at all against me except 
it were given thee from above.” (John 19:10, 11.) 
In the Parable of the Good Shepherd, we have these 
pregnant words of Jesus, “ I lay down my life for the 
sheep. . . . Therefore doth my Father love me, be¬ 
cause I lay down my life that I may take it again. No 
man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I 
have power to lay it down and I have power to take it 
again.” (John 10 : 15-18.) 

Therefore, while the Jews were guilty of the crime be¬ 
cause of their evil spirit and intention, they could not 
have crucified the Lord Jesus and forcibly ejected Him, 
if He had not voluntarily placed Himself in their hands, 
and submitted to their indignities and crime. By so 
surrendering Himself, He proved the depth of their 
envy and iniquity, while He proved, more especially, His 
power over His enemies, over death and the grave, and 
over Satan himself. He glorified God, the Father, by 
His self-sacrifice for human sin and the redemption of 
the world. All the power of the Jewish hierarchy and 
Roman Imperialism combined with the powers and prin¬ 
cipalities of the devil, were wholly inadequate to arrest 
the Lord Jesus until His hour had come, and He had 
finished the work which the Father had given Him to 
do. (John 17:1-4.) Then He went away to the 
Father again to receive His place on the Father’s 




The Reign of Jesus 


75 


throne, from whence He continues the ministry of re¬ 
demption in the person of the Holy Spirit. 

The Jews were so blinded by their misconceptions and 
prejudices, that with scoffing and jeering they hailed 
the crucifixion of Jesus as a great victory for the 
rulers and priests. They could not see that it was 
really a disastrous defeat for themselves and a glorious 
triumph for truth and righteousness. This triumph 
was made complete by His resurrection from the grave 
and His ascension to the right hand of God. This vic¬ 
tory over sin and Satan He obtained not for Himself, 
but for all men. Those who by faith link themselves 
up with the all conquering Christ, have the victory over 
“ the world, the flesh, and the devil.” To His de¬ 
pressed disciples He said, “ These things have I spoken 
unto you that ye might have peace. In the world ye 
will have tribulation, but be of good cheer. I have 
overcome the world.” (John 16: 33.) 

The ascension of Jesus into heaven does not imply 
His absence from the world. As the second person in 
the Divine Trinity, Jesus is essentially God and there¬ 
fore omnipresent. “ In the beginning was the Word, 
and the Word was with God, and the Word was 
God.” (John 1: 1.) Immediately after His resurrec¬ 
tion, Jesus showed Himself unto His disciples for forty 
days by many infallible proofs. These appearances of 
their Lord were so many assurances that He was with 
them even when invisible to them. During those crucial 
days of passion week, when the disciples were so sad¬ 
dened by the repeated announcements that He was 
going away to the Father, He assured them again and 
again that He would not leave them alone, but would 
come to them. As He stated definitely and emphatic- 




76 


The Kingdom and Coming of Christ 


ally, “ I and my Father are one,” even so did He em¬ 
phasize His identity with the Holy Spirit, and assured 
them that He would be ever present with them. He 
said, “ I will pray the Father and He will give you an¬ 
other Comforter, that He may abide with you for 
ever.” (John 14:16.) “I will not leave you orphans, 
I will come unto you.” (John 14: 18, Marginal Read¬ 
ing.) And again, “ Lo I am with you alway, even 
unto the end of the world.” (Matt. 28:20.) The 
Christian’s security is realized through the abiding 
presence of the Lord, who urged, “ Abide in me, and 
I in you. . . . He that abideth in me and I in him, 
the same bringeth forth much fruit, for without me ye 
can do nothing.” (John 15: 4, 5.) 

Therefore, we are not worshipping an absent Lord, 
who has been overcome and ejected by the sinful world, 
but the triumphant King of Glory, who is always pres¬ 
ent with His people. The promise God made to Moses, 
“ My presence shall go with thee, and I will give thee 
rest,” (Ex. 33:44) Jesus renews to every believing 
saint. 

There is not much encouragement and inspiration in 
the teaching that Jesus was so weak that He was over¬ 
come and expelled from the world by the power of 
Satan working through the rulers of the Jews, leaving 
the devil full owner and ruler of the earth, but there is 
an unfailing inspiration in the knowledge, based upon 
the revelation of the gospel and Christian experi¬ 
ence, that Jesus by His vicarious suffering and death on 
Calvary’s Cross, won a triumphant and final victory 
over “ the prince of this world,” and at the present time 
is “ the King eternal, immortal, and invisible, the only 
wise God.” (1 Tim. 1:17.) “ The blessed and only 




The Reign of Jesus 


77 


Potentate, the King of kings, and Lord of lords.” (1 
Tim. 6:15.) 

Jesus cannot reign by the application of external au¬ 
thority and power and the enforcement of statute law, 
as a political king rules over his kingdom, any more 
than the moral salvation of men can be achieved by the 
observance of a religious ritual and the enforcement of 
ecclesiastical decrees. Judaism had the most perfect 
civil and moral code the world has ever known; and it 
was buttressed, supported, and overlaid with the most 
elaborate religious ritual, worship, and service that has 
been devised; yet Judaism not only failed to conquer 
the world, but lost its own integrity and vitality. The 
whole system fell into decay and the nation disinte¬ 
grated. When the Christian church developed an 
elaborate system of ecclesiasticism and political power, 
and sought to govern the nations by external political 
pressure, she lost her moral energy and spiritual influ¬ 
ence and the nations rebelled, and rejected her author¬ 
ity. The Christian world has been reformed and vital¬ 
ized by a restoration of the more simple system and 
internal moral energy of the gospel. 

The industrial unrest, the prevalence of political 
graft, and “ frenzied finance,” the Great War and other 
great evils of the world are presented as proofs that 
Jesus is not now reigning, and that the devil is supreme 
ruler of the earth. But the world is not wholly bad. 
The agencies and forces of righteousness in the world 
are worthy of recognition. A one-sided study of world 
events and movements, gives one very lopsided views. 
He who would reach just and safe conclusions, must 
make a comprehensive study of world conditions and 
developments. The power of righteousness as dis- 




78 


The Kingdom and Coming of Christ 


played in the purifying of society, establishment of 
legitimate business and the commerce of the world, to¬ 
gether with the growth of all the arts and sciences of 
Christian civilization, must be taken into account. 
They cannot be credited to the works of the devil as 
some millennialists in their enthusiasm contend they 
should be. They who accredit Satan with such benefi¬ 
cent works transform him into a character to be courted 
rather than eschewed. But do the existing evils in the 
world prove that Jesus has for the time being aban¬ 
doned the world, and given it wholly over to Satan to 
run as he will? And that the good now manifest will 
grow less and less until the two rid is wholly bad? 
Surely, those who so teach get their inspiration from 
some other source than the revelation of God through 
Jesus Christ. 

The existing evils in the world no more prove that 
Jesus is not reigning with His people than the rebellion 
of the Sinn Feiners in Dublin proves that King George 
V does not occupy the throne of the British Empire. It 
no more proves that the righteousness of God is a fail¬ 
ure in this dispensation, than the existence of a crim¬ 
inal class proves that jurisprudence is a failure. The 
limitations and suppression of the criminal class dis¬ 
plays the need and efficiency of the administration of the 
law; in like manner, the limitations of unrighteousness 
in our Christian civilization prove the efficiency of the 
righteous reign of the Lord Jesus. The existing evils 
and even the Great War merely prove that there are 
parts of our social order and political life that are not 
yet Christianized. In other words, there are people 
and groups of people, who instead of submitting to the 
righteous reign of Jesus, choose the evil and rebel 
against God and the divine law. 





The Reign of Jesus, 


79 


Those who advocate the bodily return of Jesus to 
Jerusalem and His literal reign upon the throne of 
David insist that the conquest of the nations for God 
and righteousness can be accomplished only by such a 
visible and spectacular demonstration of divine power 
as is implied in such a visible presence and literal reign 
of the Lord. They maintain that this will not be gov¬ 
ernment by physical force but by divine power. This, 
however, is more a distinction of phraseology than of 
fact. The world under such a millennial reign would 
be a physical world, peopled by men and women in the 
body, and subject to all the physical conditions of the 
earth. The returned Jesus is to be in the body, as 
He ascended into heaven, to reign as a visible king 
upon a material throne, the literal throne of David. 
Such literalism as is described, cannot be thought of 
in any other than physical terms and relations. The 
government of the nations would necessarily be by 
physical agencies administered by force. The strictly 
literal interpretation of the prophecies demands the 
literal binding of Satan and the suppression of vice by 
the external application of divine authority and power. 
By this power all the kings of the Gentiles, or the na¬ 
tions, would be brought into subjection to the King of 
glory reigning at Jerusalem. Thus the world would be 
governed by a political head, enthroned in the capital of 
the Jews. That certainly would mean a localized king, 
in a local capital. Just what sort of an organization 
would be developed for governing the nations near and 
far, does not appear. Certainly to rule over all the 
nations, even if all selfishness and greed were eliminated, 
w r ould demand an elaborate organization, with complete 
provisions for the promotion and regulation of the 
production, transportation, and distribution of the 





80 


The Kingdom and Coming of Christ 


needed supplies. Whether this government would be 
on the lines of a benign autocracy or of a social democ¬ 
racy, or an entirely new line which has not yet been 
made known by revelation, or anticipated by human 
genius, is not made clear to us by our modern prophets. 
But according to the predictions of millennialism, the 
whole government of the nations of the world will be 
by the localized central authority at Jerusalem. 

If any person imagines that this picture of the reign 
of Jesus, according to millennial teaching, is overdrawn 
or does an injustice to the millennial theory, he has 
only to study carefully the millennial writings, and 
then think out the strictly literal interpretation of the 
scriptures to its logical conclusions. The divine pro¬ 
cesses must be logically true as well as mathematically 
correct. 

Dr. Len Broughton, one of the enthusiastic premil- 
lennial preachers, says, “ It has always been God’s pur¬ 
pose that His kingdom shall be established on the 
earth.” He quotes Zechariah 14 :4, 5, in support of 
his contention, then adds, “No one can doubt this re¬ 
fers to the earthly kingdom. And it is a fact that a 
large per cent of the Old Testament references to Jesus 
Christ are to His coming for His kingdom, rather than 
to His first advent. The proper recognition of this 
fact may account for much of the skepticism of the 
world. Certainly, it accounts for much of the bewilder¬ 
ment of the Jew. He is looking for the King. Thank 
God, some day he shall see Him in all the spectacular 
glory of his ancient dreams.” (The Second Coming of 
Christ , pages 35—37.) “ Again this kingly administra¬ 

tion of Jesus shall be personal, not spiritual.” (Ibid., 
page 40.) If this administration is not spiritual, then 
it must be physical and political. We take up another 




The Reign of Jesus 


81 


book and read: “ The millennial kingdom will be a 

literal reign of Christ on earth, not a spiritual exalta¬ 
tion of the Church.” (Jesus is Coming , W. E. B., 
page 46.) That can mean only a political reign. 

It is not necessary to multiply quotations. All pre- 
millennialists agree that there must be a personal and 
literal reign of Christ on earth, to fulfil the Old Testa¬ 
ment predictions. Under such a literal reign is the 
dominion and power exerted to be by external pres¬ 
sure, forcing the human will into submission? Is there 
any other way of saving the world by sovereign power 
in a literal or physical kingdom that will compel all 
men to submit to the will of God? 

That this is a fair application of the millennial teach¬ 
ing may be further deduced from the fact that the mil- 
lennialists are unanimous in their contention that the 
w r orld never can be saved by the gospel method of in¬ 
dividual regeneration. There must be a new dispensa¬ 
tion and a new saving principle, adequately powerful, 
to compel the people to enter into the kingdom of God. 
Such a compulsion implies the application of an exter¬ 
nal force that will override the freedom of choice. The 
appeal will no longer be to the moral conscience with 
the alternatives of choice, saying, “ Choose ye,” and 
“ whosoever will,” but by the application of sovereign 
power or pressure that will compel obedience to the 
divine law. Therefore, under the earthly reign of 
Christ, the divine principle of salvation and government 
that has prevailed through all the dispensations of the 
past will be reversed; and instead of men yielding to 
the appeals of divine grace and holiness, and volun¬ 
tarily, under the quickening of the Holy Spirit, accept¬ 
ing the offers of divine mercy and pardon, they will be 
released from their prison house of sin, by a sovereign 




82 


The Kingdom and Coming of Christ 


act of Christ, much as the sovereign power of the state 
grants an amnesty to all offenders to signalize some 
great national event. Pardon will then be a wholesale 
legal process, and the pardoned will be compelled to 
keep the law of God by the pressure of this same sover¬ 
eign authority. Under such a reign of power, man 
would be deprived of his essential personality, the power 
of self-decision, and reduced to the status of a mere 
piece of machinery in the great workshop of the Al¬ 
mighty. In such a mechanical method of salvation, 
there can be no moral merit inasmuch as there is no re¬ 
sponsible action on the part of the saved. He is not 
saved because he chooses to be, but because he had to 
be. He could not will anything else. This conception 
of the reign of Christ is entirely foreign to the scrip-' 
tural teaching. 

The gospel proves that the localized bodily presence 
of Jesus is not so effective in saving and governing 
men, as His invisible presence in the person of the Holy 
Spirit. The multitudes that gathered around Jesus 
and followed Him from place to place were actuated by 
selfish motives. They sought material benefits and 
physical help rather than moral good and spiritual 
assistance. For this Jesus rebuked them, sa} r ing, 
“ Verily, verily I say unto you, ye seek me, not because 
ye saw the miracles, but because ye did eat of the loaves 
and were filled. Labour not for that meat which per¬ 
ishes, but for that meat that endureth unto eternal life, 
which the Son of man will give unto you: for him hath 
God the Father sealed.” (John 6:26, 27.) When 
He unfolded to them what it meant to “ labor for the 
meat that perisheth not,” and urged upon them the 
great spiritual verities of the kingdom of God, “ Many 
of His disciples when they heard this said, 6 This is a 






The Reign of Jesus 


83 


hard saying; who can hear it.’ . . . From that time 
many of His disciples went back and walked no more 
with Him.” (John 6: 60, 66.) In that heart to heart 
talk with His disciples in the upper room the night of 
His arrest in the garden, Jesus said, “ Verily, verily, I 
say unto you, he that believeth on me, the works that 
I do shall he do also; and greater works shall he do; 
because I go unto my Father.” (John 14: 12.) 

There is no mistaking this promise. The disciples 
strengthened by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, 
which is His invisible presence, would be able to do 
greater works than He was able to do by His literal 
bodily presence. The materialism and unbelief of the 
people prevented Him from doing the good He would 
have done. Dr. Len Broughton intimates that this 
skepticism grew out of the failure of the people to un¬ 
derstand the great discovery made by the millennialists, 
that it was not the divine plan for Jesus to establish 
the kingdom of God at His first advent. This great 
transformation was reserved for the second coming 
which would be at least thousands of years afterwards. 
Therefore, the Jews were right in their materialism and 
Christians are wrong in teaching that it was a spiritual 
kingdom established in the hearts of regenerated men 
and women, bringing society and nations into harmony 
with the law of God. The only charge that can be 
preferred against the Jews was they misunderstood the 
time of the coming of the kingdom. . They were correct 
in their conception of its character. If this is true, 
were not John the Baptist and Jesus guilty of mis¬ 
leading the people? They kept the emphasis on the 
assurance, “ The kingdom of God is at hand.” It is 
right near. Jesus, in the midst of His ministry said, 
“ The kingdom of heaven is in you,” or among you. 




84 


The Kingdom and Coming of Christ 


That certainly could not have meant that it was thou¬ 
sands of years in the future, however much the mil- 
lennialists may try to read this meaning into the words 
of the Master. If that is what Jesus meant, the peo¬ 
ple were not so much at fault when they charged that 
His schooling was defective. Had He explained this 
point to the Jews, the whole gospel story might have 
been changed. What object could He have in keeping 
such an important truth in the dark and permitting a 
whole nation to perish and all the world to suffer for 
lack of knowledge? How can Jesus be justified for 
permitting the people to go to the bad in such igno¬ 
rance, while He continued to emphasize the opposite, 
that is, that the kingdom of God is the spiritual gov¬ 
ernment of men and women by the moral principles of 
heaven? The great work of the kingdom was not to 
be accomplished by His bodily presence, but by the 
Comforter, the Spirit of truth, working in and through 
His disciples. At the mention of His going away, the 
disciples became very sorrowful. They were disap¬ 
pointed because they expected Him to establish a literal 
kingdom at Jerusalem. He did not tell them that 
their expectations in this respect would be realized, but 
He must return unto the heavens, 46 until the times of 
the restitution of all things,” then he would return and 
establish this kingdom. If such were His program, this 
certainly was an opportune time to enlighten these sor¬ 
rowful disciples. But He never hinted such a thing. 
On the contrary, He laid the whole emphasis upon the 
spiritual work He would accomplish through the min¬ 
istry of the Holy Spirit in convincing and saving the 
world. He must depart that this work might be accom¬ 
plished. He could do more good for them and the 





The Reign of Jesus 


85 


world on the throne of God in heaven than He could 
in the body enthroned at Jerusalem. Listen to Him. 

Nevertheless, I tell you the truth: it is expedient for 
you that I go away: for if I go not away the Comforter will 
not come unto you; but if I depart I will send Him unto 
you. And when He is come He will reprove the world of 
sin, of righteousness, and of judgment; of sin because they 
believe not on me; of righteousness because I go to my 
Father and ye see me no more; and of judgment because 
the prince of this world is judged. I have yet many things 
to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now. Howbeit 
when He, the Spirit of Truth, is come, He will guide you 
into all truth; for he shall not speak of Himself; but what¬ 
soever He shall hear that shall He speak: and He shall 
show you things to come. He shall glorify me: for he shall 
receive of mine, and shall show it unto you. (John 16:7- 
15.) 

This explanation clearly and definitely points to the 
outpouring of the Holy Ghost on the day of Pentecost 
and the whole gospel dispensation as the golden age, 
and the reign of Christ in the person of the Holy Spirit 
more powerful and conquering than a reign of Christ 
on an earthly throne could be. The Acts of the Apos¬ 
tles make it plain that the victories of Jesus working 
through His disciples after His ascension, were far 
greater than they were before His ascension working 
with His disciples. There was no Pentecostal revival 
until after the glorified Christ was “ exalted to the right 
hand of God ” and seated on His Father’s throne. 
Ever since Pentecost, Jesus, through the Holy Spirit, 
has been reigning in the hearts and lives of His people, 
and through them influencing the world for good. 
Jesus reigns in every soul He saves. The social, com¬ 
mercial, and political life of the nation is dominated by 




86 


The Kingdom and Coming of Christ 


the amount of Christian principle that is infused. Not 
by external force or physical pressure, but by the 
prevalence of ideas and principles, originating in, and 
permeated with, the life of Jesus, do we find the efficient 
factor which in innumerable lives will rule the world 
as a part of the kingdom of God. 

Christ rules the world by occupying men’s minds, 
and imparting to them the divine ideas of truth and 
righteousness. This governing occupation is by the 
Holy Spirit. Is not this what Paul meant when, con¬ 
cluding that incisive passage on the coordination of 
the spirit of man and the Spirit of God, he says, “ But 
we have the mind of Christ ”? (1 Cor. 2:9-16.) In¬ 

numerable passages might be quoted to elucidate this 
governing power of the Lord Jesus through the Spirit. 
One or two characteristic passages will suffice. The 
sixth and eighth chapters of Romans are very con¬ 
clusive. Study this passage in particular. “ Let not 
sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should 
obey it in the lust thereof. Neither yield ye your mem¬ 
bers as instruments of righteousness unto sin: but yield 
yourselves unto God as those that are alive from the 
dead, and your members as instruments of righteous¬ 
ness unto God. For sin shall not have dominion over 
you: for ye are not under the law but under grace. 
What then? Shall we sin because we are not under 
the law but under grace? God forbid. Know ye not, 
that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, 
His servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin 
unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness? But 
God be thanked, that ye were the servants of sin, but 
ye have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine, 
which was delivered unto you,.” (Rom. 6:11-17.) 
Again, “ Let the peace of God rule in your hearts.” 






The Reign of Jesus 


87 


(Col. 3:15.) Paul repeatedly assigns the victories 
of Christ “ to the exceeding greatness of His power 
to us-ward who believe.” (Eph. 1:19.) “Accord¬ 
ing to the gift of the grace of God given unto me by 
the effectual working of His power.” (Eph. 3:7.) 
“ Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly 
above all that we ask or think, according to the power 
that worketh in us.” (Eph. 3:20.) “Strengthened 
with all might according to his glorious power, unto 
all patience and longsuffering with joyfulness.” (Col. 
1:11.) “ Whereunto I also labor, striving according 

to His working, which worketh in me mightily.” (Col. 
1: 29.) “ Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, 

and the power of His might. Put on the whole armour 
of God that ye may be able to stand against the wiles 
of the devil.” (Eph. 6:10, 11.) 

Thus as a “ prince and a saviour to give repentance 
unto Irsael and forgiveness of sins,” Jesus rules in the 
hearts and lives of His people who yield obedience unto 
His righteousness. Through the evangelizing agencies 
of the church, the kingdom and reign of Jesus is ex¬ 
tended over the nations, whom He rules by “ peaceful 
penetration.” The whole economy of this sovereign 
reign of Jesus is concisely given by Himself in the 
great commission to the church: 

All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go 
ye, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing 
them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the 
Holy Ghost; teaching them to observe all things whatso¬ 
ever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway 
even unto the end of the world. (Matt. 28: 18-20.) 

Jesus shall reign where’er the sun 
Doth his successive journeys run; 

His kingdom stretch from shore to shore, 

Till suns shall rise and set no more. 




CHAPTER VI 


THE PURPOSE OF THE GOSPEL 

T HE universal expectation of all Christians is the 
complete subjugation of the world by Christ Jesus. 
All look forward to the time when “ The kingdoms of 
this world will become the kingdoms of our Lord and of 
His Christ.” (Rev. 11: 15.) But interpreters of the 
gospel differ widely concerning the method and manner 
by which this glorious consummation is to be realized. 
The millennial teachers insist that this world dominion 
of Christ is not to be expected until Christ at His 
second coming will reestablish the throne of David, and 
reign as king in Jerusalem. 

The place and purpose assigned the gospel by the 
millennial system claims consideration. Millennialism 
maintains that the gospel was not intended for the con¬ 
version of the world. God never planned to save so¬ 
ciety by the preaching of the gospel. The divine pur¬ 
pose in this dispensation is merely to call out a select 
number, his ecclesia or church, and prepare them to 
“ meet their Lord in the air.” But instead of the 
church influencing the world for good and purifying 
the moral and social life of society, the world must 
grow worse and worse, in spite of all the evangelizing 
movements and Christian efforts, until Jesus comes a 
second time to make an end of sin, and renew the world 
in righteousness. 

Just how Christian people can gather from such 
teaching any inspiration and zeal for world evangelism 
and missions for the salvation of men it is difficult to 
understand. According to the millennial theory, all 
88 


89 


The Purpose of the Gospel 

efforts to save the world are antagonistic to the divine 
plan. 

Dr. R. A. Torrey, Dean, Bible Institute of Los An¬ 
geles, in his commendatory foreword to the booklet, 
The Folly of Federation between the Church and the 
World , which has been freely distributed among clergy¬ 
men and Bible teachers, says: 

I heartily agree with the doctrine of the booklet. The 
message is one that is greatly needed. If the Church is 
to accomplish the work that God has called her to do, she 
must understand God’s plan and God’s method, and must 
conform to that. 

It is not God’s plan in this present dispensation to save 
society, but to save individuals and to call out from the 
world a people for His name. 

Just how the individuals that compose society can be 
saved, without saving the society, the learned doctor 
does not attempt to explain. In the booklet so heartily 
commended, the author, Rev. R. E. Neighbour, a Bap¬ 
tist minister of Georgia, says, “ The mission of the 
church is not to make this a better world in which to 
house sinners but to call sinners to a better world; not 
to improve social conditions here, but to call the people 
out of present corrupt social conditions.” ( The Folly 
of Federation , page 32.) The social conditions are 
created by people. If there are no people, there can 
be no social conditions, corrupt or otherwise. “ Call 
the people out of present corrupt social conditions,” 
and those conditions would be changed. These social 
facts are overlooked by the author. The one thing he 
is trying to prove is, that “ the mission of the church 
is not to make this a better world.” In another place 
he says, “ If men who are active in moral reform and 
social propaganda could only have the curtains drawn 




90 


The Kingdom and Coming of Christ 


back, they would see that they are not, as they often 
suppose, supported by Jesus’s name. If the veil were 
removed, and their eyes opened, they would behold 
Satan, with principalities and powers, with world rulers 
of this darkness, with hosts of wicked spirits in the 
air, energizing men to produce better things.” (Ibid., 
page 39.) 

This is a marvellous statement! How interesting to 
be informed that Satan has become such a benefactor, 
and saviour of the world, that his hosts are devoting 
their efforts to “ energizing men to produce better 
things.” This is certainly a new role for Satan! If 
this is true, Satan is doing the world far greater serv¬ 
ice than Christ. He has the moral and social reforms 
to his credit. Then those who have been denouncing 
him as the enemy of all good have been grossly ma¬ 
ligning him. We are further informed by this author 
that, 

The popular reform waves of the hour are, therefore, 
satanic. Note one: The very nation-wide sweep of the 
prohibition wave marks it as approved of Satan. Its mo¬ 
mentum is tremendous. Great political parties have heard 
the roar of its mighty sweep, on and on, even to the very 
doors of Congress. The scope of its sweep is its ear-mark. 
God’s church was ever to remain a suffering minority. 

And yet thousands and tens of thousands of God’s chil¬ 
dren are enlisted. They are enthusiastic,— they are pour¬ 
ing out their wealth, and lending their strength in the 
mighty conflict, for state, national, and world-wide pro¬ 
hibition. 

They have entered the battle in the name of Christ and 
His church. They see a better day. They believe that 
by the ballot they will soon drive vice and the saloon from 
the land. 

What if the curtain were lifted and they should see 
behind the scenes their leader — Satan? (Ibid., page 41.) 




The Purpose of the Gospel 


91 


A commendatory foreword, from Charles Butler, 
Evangelist, says, “ The author follows the premillen- 
nial teaching to its logical conclusion.” Its teaching 
is certainly quite astounding. “ The thousands, and 
tens of thousands of God’s children ” who have enlisted 
in the great temperance and moral reform movements 
thought they were laboring to carry out the divine plan, 
and that Satan was the arch opponent of this good 
work. These premillennial writers rise to say it is all 
a mistake, Satan is not opposing, but leading the re¬ 
forms. The forces of evil in the world, the liquor men, 
gamblers, white slavers, and the great army of the 
workers of iniquity that stand in active opposition to 
all good, are not the followers of Satan. He is the 
supreme reformer, the father of the mighty sweeping 
reforms that are roaring in the ears of political par¬ 
ties, and knocking at the doors of the governing powers 
of the world. We might ask, who, then, is leading the 
armies of iniquity? It cannot be Satan. He cannot 
lead both parties. Jesus said, “ If Satan cast out 
Satan, he is divided against himself: how shall then his 
kingdom stand? ” (Matt. 12: 26.) 

This, then, is “ premillennial teaching carried to its 
logical conclusion.” “ The mission of the church is 
not to make this a better world.” ... 66 Not to im¬ 
prove social conditions here.” It matters not how good 
a movement may be, if it improves the world, and helps 
society to better conditions, it is of Satan. The church 
cannot become a strong power for good in the world. 
That would be contrary to the plan of God. If it gets 
beyond “ the suffering minority,” it bears “ the ear¬ 
marks of Satan.” Therefore, Satan is the leader of 
“ the many popular reform waves of the hour,” and 
the consequent improvement in society. 




92 


The Kingdom and Coming of Christ 


In this teaching, we get the reason for the vehement 
millennialist protests against any and every suggestion 
that the world is, in any respect, growing better. To 
admit that the world is growing more Christian would 
be fatal to their system. They must maintain that the 
gospel was never intended for the conversion of the 
world. Rev. Len G. Broughton, D.D., the famous 
preacher, in his book, Jesus is Coming, discussing 
the place of the gospel in the divine plan of world sal¬ 
vation, says, “ It must also be understood that the gos¬ 
pel of this dispensation is not for the conversion of the 
world. If this were true we would have to stamp fail¬ 
ure upon the face of the Old Book. It has not, nor 
never will save the world till Jesus comes.” (Jesus is 
Coming , page 49.) 

Thus the millennialists discredit the gospel and brand 
it as inadequate to meet the moral and spiritual needs 
of society and the world. When so decrying the gospel 
are they giving glory to God, and our Lord and Sa¬ 
viour Jesus Christ? If the gospel is not intended for 
the conversion of the world, what message of hope has 
the church for the lost? Jesus said, “ The son of man 
is come to seek and to save that which was lost.” 
(Luke 19:10.) “ For I am not come to call the right¬ 

eous but sinners to repentance.” (Matt. 9:13.) Cer¬ 
tainly any theory of the divine plan of redemption that 
detracts from the power of the gospel to save men and 
women, militates against the work and influence of the 
church, in carrying out the divine commission, “ Go 
ye, therefore, and make disciples of all nations.” 
(Matt. 28:19.) 

In the New Testament Jesus is heralded as the 
world’s Saviour, with a constant insistence upon world 
conquest as the objective of the kingdom of God. The 




The Purpose of the Gospel 


93 


ordinary readers of the Bible readily conclude that the 
gospel of Jesus was intended for the conversion of the 
world; and the purification of social, commercial, po¬ 
litical, and national life. But the millennial inter¬ 
preters say that these are the unlearned and unstable 
who wrest the scriptures to their own destruction (2 
Pet. 3:16), not having learned to “ rightly divide the 
word of truth.” (2 Tim. 2:15.) In their division of 
the word of truth, they draw a definite line of cleavage 
between the prophecies of conquest and glory, and those 
of suffering and defeat. All the passages and expres¬ 
sions that intimate suffering and defeat are assigned to 
the gospel dispensation, while all the predictions of 
conquest and glory are assigned to the millennial reign. 
Rev. C. I. Scofield, founder of the Scofield Bible Cor¬ 
respondence School, who claims to be a conservative 
millennialist, in his Bible study course defines this line 
of cleavage after this fashion: 

Whoever carefully considers Old Testament Prophecies 
must be struck by two contrasting and seemingly contra¬ 
dictory lines of predictions concerning the coming Messiah. 
One body of prediction speaks of Him coming in weakness 
and humiliation, “ a man of sorrows and acquainted with 
grief,” a root out of a dry ground, having no form nor 
comeliness nor beauty that He should be desired. His 
visage is to be marred, His hands and feet pierced. He is 
to be forsaken of man and of God and to make His grave 
with the wicked. 

The other line of prophecy foretells a splendid and re¬ 
sistless sovereign, purging the earth with awful j udgments, 
regathering dispersed Israel, restoring the throne of David 
in more than Solomon’s splendor, and introducing a reign 
of profound peace and perfect righteousness. 

In due time the fulfilment of Messianic prophecy began 
with the birth of the Virgin’s son according to Micah, and 
proceeded with perfect literalness unto the full accomplish- 




94 ? 


The Kingdom and Coming of Christ 


ment of every prediction of Messiah’s humiliation. But 
the Jews would not receive their King, “ meek and sitting 
upon an ass, and a colt the foal of an ass,” but crucified 
Him. 

What now becomes of the prophetic utterances which 
positively foretold the earthly power of David’s Son? It 
must be remembered that in volume these exceed the pre¬ 
dictions of the Messiah’s sufferings, eight to one. Indeed 
the earthly glory of Messiah is the great theme of Old 
Testament prochecy. 

The answer is found in the testimony of Christ, and of 
every one of the writers of the New Testament to a Second 
Advent of Messiah, when the predictions concerning His 
earthly glory will receive the same precise literal fulfill¬ 
ment as did those which concerned His earthly sufferings. 

The great theme of all the Old Testament as we know 
from Christ Himself is the sufferings of Christ and the 
glories which should follow. (1 Pet. 1:11; Luke 24:25, 
26.) The sufferings are accomplished; the glories which 
include the restoration of Israel, and the thousand years’ 
reign of Christ, will as surely follow. 

The student, then, will find that all prophetic scriptures 
divide along this line of cleavage, and belong either to the 
first or second advent of Messiah. (Scofield’s Corre¬ 
spondence Course of Study , Vol. I, Lesson VI, page 25.) 

The ostensible line of cleavage worked out in this 
lesson is interesting. But is the cleavage real? Or 
has it been forced upon the prophecies, for the purpose 
of gaining support for the millennial theory? Before 
entering upon the particular examination of the 
prophets, it may be well to review some of the state¬ 
ments of this lesson. Emphasis is placed upon the dis¬ 
covery that the scriptures predicting the glories of the 
Messiah “ exceed the predictions of His suffering eight 
to one.” It seems very strange that of these Messianic 
predictions, which began to be fulfilled two thousand 
years ago, those relating to the sufferings of Christ 
are the only ones that have been fulfilled, and they were 




The Purpose of the Gospel 


95 


fulfilled in the brief period of thirty-three years,— dur¬ 
ing the physical life of Jesus — and that all the pre¬ 
dictions of the glories which should follow — eight- 
ninths of the whole,— are yet unfulfilled? And they 
cannot be fulfilled until at some time in the future,— 
a time unknown and indefinite — Jesus comes a second 
time to set up a new dispensation? That is for a pe¬ 
riod of thirty-three years there was a wonderful ful¬ 
filment of one-ninth of the predictions of the Old Testa¬ 
ment, but during thousands of years that follow, there 
is no fulfilment of prophecy? Has the Almighty gone 
on a journey, or is He merely sleeping, and needs to be 
awakened? This seems the more striking and strange 
when w^e remember that the predictions of “ the suffer¬ 
ings of Christ, and the glories which follow,” are so 
interwoven that the ordinary reader does not discern 
any such line of cleavage as is drawn by the sage 
Dr. C. I. Scofield. All recognize the fact that the 
humiliation and sufferings of Christ began in Bethle¬ 
hem’s manger, and ended with Calvary’s cross. But 
was there no glory connected with the life and death 
of Jesus? Was there no glory in His victory over the 
grave, His exaltation to the right hand of God, and the 
consequent descent of the Holy Ghost in Pentecostal 
power? Was not the resurrection glory of Jesus and 
the conversion of the multitudes at Pentecost and after, 
some of the glories that should follow the sufferings of 
Christ? The night of the betrayal and arrest, Jesus 
in the upper room, with His disciples began His dedi¬ 
catory prayer with this significant petition, “ Father, 
the hour is come; glorify thy son, that thy son also 
may glorify thee.” As He proceeded in His prayer, 
He said, “ And now, O Father, glorify thou me with 
thine own self, with the glory which I had with thee 




96 


The Kingdom and Coming of Christ 


before the world was.” (John 17: 1, 5*) If this glory 
was not to begin until the second coming of Jesus, 
which was more than two thousand years in the future, 
and might be many thousand, how could Jesus say, 
u The hour is come ” ? This does not refer to some 
time in the indefinite future, but to a time already com¬ 
pleted — eleluthen e hora. 66 The hour has come.” 
This refers exclusively to the glories of Christ which 
were to follow His sufferings. Jesus, certainly, ex¬ 
pected His glories to begin right then. The whole 
prayer deals with a glory being then revealed, and to 
be still further revealed through the disciples then 
closeted with Him, and also those who in the future 
would believe on Him. He said, “ And the glory which 
thou gavest me, I have given them.” (John 17:22.) 
That could not possibly refer to the glory of another 
dispensation which was thousands of years in the future. 

The first impression of a thoughtful student of Dr. 
Scofield’s course of study is that his division of the 
Messianic prophecies is unnatural, arbitrary, forced, 
and unwarranted. Attention is immediately directed to 
a detailed examination of the particular prophecies 
quoted to buttress the millennial structure. There are 
first the passages that predict the universal diffusion of 
the knowledge of the true God. For instance: 

They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain: 
for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord 
as the waters cover the sea. (Isa. 11:9; Hab. 2: 14.) 

And all thy children shall be taught of the Lord; and 
great shall be the peace of thy children. (Isa. 54: 13.) 

This shall be the covenant I will make with the house of 
Israel; after those days saith the Lord, I will put my law 
in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will 
be their God and they shall be my people. And they shall 
teach no more every man his neighbour, and every man his 




The Purpose of the Gospel 


97 


brother, saying, Know the Lord; for they shall all know 
me, from the least of them to the greatest of them, saith 
the Lord: for I will forgive their iniquity and remember 
their sin no more. (Jer. 31: 32, 34.) 

And I will make an everlasting covenant with them, that 
I will not turn away from them, to do them good; but I 
will put my fear in their hearts, that they shall not depart 
from me. Yea, I will rejoice over them to do them good, 
and I will plant them in this land assuredly, with my whole 
heart and my whole soul. For thus saith the Lord: Like 
as I have brought all this great evil upon this people, so 
will I bring upon them all the good I have promised. 
(Jer. 32:40-42.) 

These are a few of the many passages that might be 
cited as predicting the golden age of the people of God. 
The millennialists not only insist that these prophecies 
have not been fulfilled, but that they cannot be ful¬ 
filled, until Christ comes a second time to set up a mil¬ 
lennial kingdom. That they have not been completely 
fulfilled, may be readily admitted; but when it is urged 
that they cannot be fulfilled until there is an entire 
change of dispensation, and a bodily reign of Christ 
on earth, we have an entirely different proposition. It 
seems exceedingly presumptuous for any person or peo¬ 
ple to say that God cannot use the agencies and forces 
now at His hand under the present gospel dispensation 
to fulfil completely all these predictions. 

These, like all the prophecies of the Old Testament, 
were spoken to the people of Israel, and contained a 
specific message for the times; rebuking popular sins, 
urging repentance and reformation, and promising de¬ 
liverance from their enemies and restoration to the di¬ 
vine favor. They also predicted the coming of the 
Messiah, and the gathering of the nations into the Mes¬ 
sianic kingdom of grace and glory. 

The New Testament writers accepted these prophe- 




98 


The Kingdom and Coming of Christ 


cies as applying particularly to the gospel period, and 
so appropriated them and claimed their fulfilment in 
the pentecostal revival, and the great missionary tri¬ 
umphs that followed. Jesus claimed to be, Himself, the 
fulfilment of the prophecies. He said, “ Think not that 
I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets; I am 
not come to destroy but to fulfil.” (Matt. 5:17.) 
When the book was delivered to Him in the synagogue 
at Nazareth, where He was brought up, Jesus read from 
the prophecy of Isaiah: 

The spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath 
anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent 
me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the 
captives, and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at lib¬ 
erty them that are bruised, to preach the acceptable year 
of the Lord. (Luke 4:18, 21. Comp. Isa. 61: 1, 2.) 

He closed the book and sat down, and when all eyes 
were fastened on Him, He said, “ This day is this scrip¬ 
ture fulfilled in your ears.” (Luke 4 : 21.) 

This certainly outlined some of the glories following 
the sufferings of Christ. The glory of Christ is the 
deliverance of men and women from the grip of suffer¬ 
ing and the bondage of sin. 

The writer of the Epistle to the Hebrews in a most 
masterful and convincing manner shows how Moses and 
the prophets were being fulfilled by Christ and the 
preaching of the gospel. He quoted with particular 
emphasis the prophecy of Jeremiah (Ch. 31:33, 34; 
Heb. 8: 10-12) to prove that the spread of the gos¬ 
pel and the expansion of the Christian church fulfilled 
the prophecies from which the Hebrews had hoped so 
much. In developing his argument, he both compares 
and contrasts the Old Covenant and the New and 
showed that there had been no change in the principles 




The Purpose of the Gospel 


99 


of the Old. The only change is in the ritual observ¬ 
ance, and method of expression. Under the Old Cove¬ 
nant God, on His part, promised “ I will be your God,” 
and the people on their part promised, “ We will be 
thy people.” This same mutual agreement takes place 
under the New Covenant. 

If the prophecies of Jeremiah were fulfilled by the 
gospel in the days of the apostles, how much more com¬ 
pletely are they being fulfilled in these days of world¬ 
wide missions! The promise is, “ And they shall not 
teach every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord, 
for all shall know me from the least to the greatest.” 
Technically this may not yet be true, but in a general 
way the promise has been fulfilled in the public preach¬ 
ing of the gospel. 

Under the Old Covenant, properly speaking, there was 
no public instruction; before the erection of the synagogues 
all worship was confined at first to the tabernacle, after¬ 
wards to the temple. When synagogues were established 
they were used principally for the bare reading of the law 
and the prophets: and scarcely any such thing as a public 
ministry for the continued instruction of the common people 
was found in the land until John the Baptist, our Lord, 
and His apostles. It is true that there were prophets who 
were a sort of general teachers, but neither was their min¬ 
istry extended through all the people; and there were 
schools of the Prophets, and schools of the Rabbis , but 
these were for the instruction of select persons. Hence 
it was necessary that every man should do what he could, 
under that dispensation, to instruct his neighbour and 
brother. But the prophecy here indicates that there should 
be under the gospel dispensation a profusion of Divine 
light; and this we find to be the case by the plentiful dif¬ 
fusion of the sacred writings and by an abundant gospel 
ministry: and these blessings are not confined to temples 
or palaces, but are found in every corner of the land; so 
that, literally, all the people from the least to the greatest 




100 The Kingdom and Coming of Christ 


know and acknowledge the only true God and Jesus Christ 
whom He hath sent. Almost every man, at least in this 
land, has a Bible and can read it; and there is not a family 
that has not the opportunity of hearing the Gospel 
preached, explained, and enforced. (Dr. A. Clark’s Com¬ 
mentary, Heb. 8:10-12.) 

This explanation was written a hundred years ago. 
The advance in the distribution of Bibles, and the ex¬ 
tension of the gospel during the last century has been 
marvellous, and is growing with ever widening circles. 
Thus all the demands of this Messianic prophecy are 
being met under the gospel. 

The prophecies of Isaiah as recorded in the eleventh 
chapter seem to bristle with difficulties for the millen- 
nialists. To them the Utopian conditions described 
must be beyond the sphere of any dispensation the 
world has yet seen, and can only be fulfilled under the 
millennial dispensation that they anticipate will come 
when “ the Son of man shall come in his glory.” Their 
fundamental difficulty here, as elsewhere, is due to their 
rigid insistence upon a purely literal interpretation 
and fulfilment. This, however, is absurd inasmuch as 
all prophetic language is highly figurative and pic¬ 
torial. Their insistence upon placing the literal and 
spiritual as opposite and incompatible terms is quite 
fallacious. To them the literal must be physical. 
All outside of the physical must be ruled out of the 
realm of literal truth. This is a serious violation of 
language and of facts. The spiritual verities are just 
as literally true as the physical. God is a spirit, 
heaven is a spiritual home, and all that pertains to God 
and heaven, in the unseen are spiritualities which are 
literally true. The true contrasts are not literal and 
spiritual, but literal and figurative, physical and spir- 




The Purpose of the Gospel 


101 


itual. Though this distinction has been made in an 
earlier chapter, it is worthy of emphasis here, as pre¬ 
paratory to a detailed study of this entrancing chapter 
of Isaiah. 

The statement, or prophecy, which links this chapter 
with the foregoing expositions of Jeremiah’s predic¬ 
tions, is “ The earth shall be full of the knowledge of 
the Lord, as the waters cover the sea.” (Isa. 11:9.) 
In passing, it is worthy of notice that “ the earth ” to 
the Hebrew mind meant the land of Palestine, “ the 
land of promise.” But the gospel blessings have been 
diffused through all the world. In the days of John 
the Baptist and of Jesus, the whole land was filled with 
the fame and knowledge of the Lord. Never before, 
in all the history of Israel, had there been such a popu¬ 
lar appeal and call to repentance toward God. That 
this was the period and reformation that the prophet 
held in view is made clear by the following verse: 

“ And in that day there shall be a root of Jesse, 
which shall stand for an ensign of the people; to it 
shall the Gentiles seek: and his rest shall be glorious.” 
(Isa. 11: 10.) Jesus was the root of Jesse. He stood 
for an ensign to the people, and the Gentiles sought 
Him. The Greeks desired to see Him, saying, “ Sirs, 
we would see Jesus.” (John 12: 20, 21.) During the 
apostolic era, the knowledge of the Lord spread through 
Asia, Greece, Rome, Egypt, Spain, and some claim, as 
far as Britain and China. 

The following verse is presented as indubitable proof 
that all this prophecy belongs to the millennial reign 
to be inaugurated at the second coming of Christ, 
rather than the first advent, because the Prophet says, 
it shall be a second time. The whole passage reads, 
“ And it shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord 




102 The Kingdom and Coming of Christ 


shall set his hand again the second time to recover the 
remnant of His people, which shall be left from Assyria, 
and from Egypt, and from Fathros, and from Cush, 
and from Elam, and from Shinar, and from Hamath, 
and from the isles of the sea.” (Isa. 11: 11.) 

Is the prophet here describing a dispensation subse¬ 
quent to and distinct from the reign of the Messiah, 
the root of Jesse, under the gospel of grace? We think 
not. There loomed in the future the captivity of 
Israel and Judah under the Assyrians and Babylonians. 
Isaiah held in the foreground of his vision, the restora¬ 
tion from that captivity which was accomplished under 
Ezra and Nehemiah. The more distant prospect was 
the religious restoration of the people under the Mes¬ 
siah and the preaching of the gospel. The first was 
largely a political restoration to the land of promise, 
the second a restoration to righteousness, under the 
call to repent and enter the kingdom of God. Of 
course this distinction is not arbitrary because the po¬ 
litical restoration involved a religious revival and a 
restoration of the temple, and sanctuary worship, while 
in the second great religious awakening, principles of 
equality and brotherly love were laid down which have 
revolutionized the political organizations of nations. 
The distinction is that in the first the political held 
the place of prominence, while in the second the reli¬ 
gious occupies the centre of the field. 

The objection urged against this interpretation is 
that in neither instance were all the people of Israel 
restored. But the prophet does not predict the res¬ 
toration of all Israel, but only a remnant. “ He shall 
set His hand again a second time to recover the rem¬ 
nant of his people.” The remnant was recovered in 
the restoration from Babylon, and also in the restora- 




The Purpose of the Gospel 


103 


tion of grace under the Messiah. Paul emphasizes this 
provision of the prophecy when he says, “ Even so then 
at this time there is a remnant according to the election 
of grace.’’ (Rom. 11:5.) Under the gospel preach¬ 
ing, the remnant of the dispersed were recovered from 
all the surrounding countries. On the day of Pente¬ 
cost, the first gospel sermon was preached to “ Parthians 
and Medes, and Elamites and the dwellers of Mesopo¬ 
tamia and in Judea and Cappadocia, in Pontus and 
Asia, Phrygia, and Pamphylia, in Egypt, and in the 
parts of Lybia, about Cyrene, and strangers of Rome, 
Jews and Proselytes, Cretes and Arabians.” (Acts 
2: 9-11.) These all heard the wonderful works of God 
in their own tongue. What more literal fulfilment of 
the prophecy of Isaiah could be required? The sum¬ 
mary of the places in Acts completely covers the sum¬ 
mary of the prophet. 

There is also predicted peace and brotherly fellow¬ 
ship, between Ephraim and Judah. “ The envy of 
Ephraim shall depart, and the adversaries of Judah 
shall be cut off: Ephraim shall not envy Judah, and 
Judah shall not vex Ephraim.” (Isa. 11: 13.) 

This also is projected into the millennial period. It 
is claimed that the only way God can fulfil this predic¬ 
tion is to gather the dispersed of Israel and Judah from 
the four corners of the earth and reestablish them in 
peace in Palestine as they were under the reign of 
David. But to achieve such a political fulfilment, the 
Jews will have to be not only re-assembled in Palestine, 
but re-organized into tribes. An intimation that this 
is impossible will elicit the retort, “ With God all things 
are possible.” While we may with safety admit that 
“ with God all things are possible,” we can claim with 
equal safety, that with God some things are very un- 




104 ? The Kingdom and Coming of Christ 


likely, and this is one of those things. It does not 
appeal to a rational mind as at all feasible. The dis¬ 
persion of the tribes of Israel has been so complete, 
and the tribal distinctions have been obliterated for so 
many centuries, that it is asking a great deal of thought¬ 
ful people to believe that God will re-assemble the Jews 
from all quarters of the earth, and re-organize them on 
Mount Zion into the twelve original tribes, in order to 
fulfil these predictions of Isaiah. The wheels of time 
never turn backward. When once a people or a na¬ 
tion passes through a crisis of history, the former 
status can never be restored. There must be a mov¬ 
ing forward. 

Is there not a more rational interpretation to this 
prediction, that conserves all the elements of truth and 
maintains the credibility of the prophet? Ephraim and 
Judah are representative of all of God’s people. The 
point of the prophecy is that a time will come when 
the people of God, instead of envying and vexing one 
another, will live together in harmony and true broth¬ 
erly fellowship. Look at the first gospel scene: The 
disciples of Jesus, Jews from Galilee and Judea — 
Ephraim and Judah—“were with one accord in one 
place.” (Acts 2:1.) For ten days these had “all 
continued with one accord in prayer and supplication ” 
(Acts 1:14), until the Holy Ghost had come upon them, 
in fulfilment of the promise of the Father. Under the 
heavenly baptism, three thousand were converted and 
baptized. “ And they continued steadfastly in the 
apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of 
bread and prayers. . . . And all that believed were 
together and had all things common; and sold their 
possessions and goods, and parted them to all men, as 
every man had need. And they, continuing daily with 




The Purpose of the Gospel 


105 


one accord in the temple, and breaking of bread from 
house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and 
singleness of heart, praising God and having favor with 
all the people.” (Acts 2:42-47.) After the Pente¬ 
costal Church had been increased by several thousands, 
“ The multitude of them that believed were of one heart 
and one soul: neither said any of them that aught of 
the things which he possessed was his own; but they 
had all things common.” (Acts 4:32.) Is not this a 
complete literal fulfilment of Isaiah’s prophecy? This 
is the relationship that all the true people of God bear 
to one another under the gospel of grace. Jesus 
placed special emphasis upon the importance of this 
brotherly spirit as an irrefutable proof of the divinity 
of the Christian religion. He said, “ A new command¬ 
ment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I 
have loved you, that ye also love one another. By this 
shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have 
love one to another.” (John 13: 34, 35.) This unity 
of love and fraternal fellowship was the point of that 
profound dedicatory prayer of Jesus in the upper room. 
Pie prayed “ That they all may be one; as thou, Father, 
art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in 
us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me. 
And the glory which thou gavest me, I have given them; 
that they may be one even as we are one: I in them, 
and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; 
and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, 
and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me.” (John 
17:21-23.) 

This is the burden of gospel teaching on the social 
relations of man with man. If any Christian people 
are not united in this fraternal affection, and are not 
“ endeavoring to keep the unity of the spirit in the 




106 The Kingdom and Coming of Christ 


bonds of peace,” it is not the fault of the gospel, or 
because of any failure in the divine system of salvation. 
The urgency of the gospel is that “ Ephraim shall not 
envy Judah, and Judah shall not vex Ephraim.” 

The first part of this remarkable chapter demands 
attention. The revolutionary effect of the preaching 
of righteousness, under the Spirit of the Lord, is most 
marvellous in the extreme. The effect upon the na¬ 
tures of the beast and the reptile is so wonderful, and 
apparently unnatural, that the millennialists are sure 
such a transformation cannot be effected under the gos¬ 
pel dispensations, and therefore must rank among the 
wonders of the coming millennial age. But are we com¬ 
pelled to accept the language of Isaiah as purely literal, 
and demanding a so-called absolutely literal fulfilment? 
Is it not probable that the prophet is following the 
common prophetic practice, and using the names of 
beasts and reptiles figuratively, as descriptive of the 
untamed and uncontrolled passions of men in an un¬ 
regenerate condition? And thereby a pictorial descrip¬ 
tion of the moral and spiritual regeneration of de¬ 
praved people through faith in the “ rod of the stem 
of Jesse ” (Isa. 11:1), the Branch that grew out of his 
roots? 

The passage reads, “ The wolf also shall dwell with 
the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; 
and the calf and the young lion and the fatling to¬ 
gether; and a little child shall lead them. And the 
cow and the bear shall feed; their young ones shall lie 
down together; and the lion shall eat straw like an ox.” 
(Isa. 11:6, 7.) 

Could the prophet really mean that a time would 
come when the religious influence in the world would be 
so powerful, that the ravenous beasts of the wilds would 




The Purpose of the Gospel 


107 


undergo such a radical change of nature, that the lion, 
the bear, the leopard, and the wolf would become harm¬ 
less, and dwell in peace with the lamb and the kid, 
under the leadership of a little child? 

Human language abounds with striking metaphors 
whereby men are likened unto animals. In the Greek 
and Latin classics there are many examples quite simi¬ 
lar to this from Isaiah. These are simply poetic fig¬ 
ures representing the great change that will come over 
men in the golden age. Dr. Adam Clark, in calling 
attention to these examples, says, “ How much they fall 
short of that beauty and elegance, and variety of 
imagery, with which Isaiah has set forth the very same 
ideas.” (Clark’s Commentary , Isaiah 11: 6-7.) 

How forcefully Byron describes Sennacherib’s army 
in its attack on Hezekiah! 

The Assyrian came down like a wolf on the fold, 

And his cohorts were gleaming in purple and gold. 

The change from simile to metaphor is easy and 
impressive, “ The Assyrian wolf came down on the 
fold.” 

The Arabian and Persian poets elegantly apply the 
same ideas to show the effects of justice impartially 
administered, and firmly supported by a great and good 
king: — 

Mahmoud the powerful king, the ruler of the world. 

To whose tank the wolf and the lamb come together to 
drink. 

Jesus and the apostles make frequent use of these 
figures. Jesus said, “ Beware of false prophets which 
come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly they are 
ravening wolves.” (Matt. 7:15.) When commission- 




108 The Kingdom and Coming of Christ 


ing His disciples and sending them forth on their first 
missionary tour, He said, “ Behold I send you forth as 
sheep in the midst of wolves; be ye therefore as wise as 
serpents and as harmless as doves.” (Matt. 10:16.) 

Paul in his famous farewell to the elders of the 
Ephesian church said, “ For I know that after my 
departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you, 
not sparing the flock.” (Acts 20:29.) Both Peter 
and Jude called the ungodly, “ natural brute beasts.” 
(2 Pet. 2:12 and Jude 10.) These examples might 
be multiplied indefinitely. In view of these facts, who 
can doubt that the fascinating picturesqueness of 
Isaiah’s imagery is intended to describe the radical 
change that was to take place in the nature and dispo¬ 
sition of men under the saving power and righteous 
reign of Jesus, and the triumphs of the ever blessed 
gospel. 

It is strange that the millennialists cannot see in the 
progress of the gospel any fulfilment to these Messianic 
predictions. Is it not exceedingly pathetic for a peo¬ 
ple to be so blinded by some special theory that they 
cannot see the beauty and glory of the larger world 
about them, and feel that they must deny the good that 
abounds on every side? This composed the pathos of 
the religious mentality of the Jews and led them to 
crucify their Messiah. The same peculiar mentality 
displays itself in those teachings of millennialism that 
deny to the gospel of Jesus the glories of the world’s 
redemption, and the regeneration of society. 

Have not the wolf and the lamb dwelt together? 
Have not the leopard and the kid lain down together? 
Has not the lion been so domesticated that he has en¬ 
tirely changed his system of diet and manner of living? 
Is it necessary to relate to intelligent Christians the 




The Purpose of the Gospel 


109 


marvellous transformations of character and life, the 
radical changes of nature, affected by the grace and 
spirit of the gospel of Jesus? Contrast the ferocious, 
persecuting spirit of Saul of Tarsus with the gentle, 
tender, and kindly spirit of Paul the Apostle. We 
might fill pages relating individual instances of these 
great moral transformations. We have only to revert 
to our own pagan ancestry in the British Isles and 
northern Europe, and contrast their wild, pagan con¬ 
dition with the humane, gentle, and philanthropic spirit 
that dominates our English Christian civilization as a 
whole, to get a demonstration of the power of the gospel 
to transform wild natures. When we contrast that 
coarse pagan barbarism with the refined spirit of Chris¬ 
tian brotherhood, now displayed by our highest types 
of Christian men and women, we are convinced that no 
other language could more succinctly and fittingly de¬ 
scribe it than the chaste, elegant, varied, and expressive 
imagery of Isaiah. But we turn to the modern triumphs 
of the missionary and evangelizing glories of the gos¬ 
pel. When Hunt and Calvert landed on the Fiji Is¬ 
lands, the first sight that greeted them was a cannibal 
feast. The wolves of those cannibal isles were delib¬ 
erately preparing to eat their own flesh, and were mak¬ 
ing it a festive scene of rejoicing. Within fifty years, 
not only was cannibalism abolished, but practically the 
whole population were regular attendants at Christian 
worship, nearly every home had family prayers, and 
the people were living together in brotherly love and 
concord. The same story can be told of the New Heb¬ 
rides, and many other places where the gospel of Jesus 
has triumphed gloriously. Here is a very impressive 
example of a changed nature. The Sacrament of the 
Lord’s Supper was being administered in a native 





110 The Kingdom and Coming of Christ 


church on a South Sea island. One of the communi¬ 
cants, a tribal chief, was noticed to be deeply moved by 
intense passion and excitement; and he suddenly arose 
from his knees and walked quickly out of the church. 
In a little while he returned perfectly calm, and de¬ 
voutly took his place, and received the communion. 
After the service the missionary asked him the cause 
of his sudden and extreme agitation. He replied, 
“ You saw the man who came forward and knelt beside 
me. He also is a chief, and his tribe has been an enemy 
of mine. I saw him despoil my people and eat my 
father and mother; and I vowed that some day I would 
take vengeance on him. This is the first time since 
then that I have seen him. When he knelt beside me 
all my old savage blood stirred within me and cried for 
that vengeance. I did not dare remain beside him any 
longer for fear I would lose control of myself. I went 
out and prayed to my Saviour for forgiveness, and 
sought grace to forgive him, even as my Lord had 
taught me, and the Lord gave me the victory.” 

Is not that a literal fulfilment of the prophecy? The 
wild beast is tamed, and all the ferocious nature is 
brought into subjection to the spirit of righteousness, 
described in the first verses of the chapter. 

There is another chapter of Isaiah of entrancing 
beauty, promise and strength of expression that the 
millennialists assign to the millennial age. It begins, 
“ The wilderness and the solitary place shall be glad 
for them: and the desert shall rejoice and blossom like 
the rose. It shall blossom abundantly and rejoice even 
with joy and singing: the glory of Lebanon shall be 
given unto it, the excellency of Carmel and Sharon, 
they shall see the glory of the Lord and the excellency 
of our God.” (Isa. 3:5.) 




The Purpose of the Gospel 


111 


Has the world to wait until a new dispensation is 
ushered in to see the fulfilment of this prediction? If 
a literal physical fulfilment be insisted on, can we not 
see it in the development of the world’s industries under 
the magic touch of Christian civilization? Look afield 
today! See throughout all Christian lands, harvest 
fields laden with the abundant crops produced by the 
skill born of Christian education. Think of the waste 
deserts that have been and are being reclaimed by irri¬ 
gation. What shall we say of our vast prairie lands, 
of the great central plains of the American continent 
that have been converted from a wilderness into exten¬ 
sive fields of ripening grain to feed the increasing mil¬ 
lions of the world’s population? Surely as we contem¬ 
plate these wonderful transformations, we can see a 
marvellous fulfilment of Isaiah’s prophecy, “ The wil¬ 
derness and solitary places shall be glad for them.” 

But is there not a deeper, grander, and more glorious 
meaning to the fascinating predictions of this matchless 
prophecy? Dr. Adam Clark says, “ The various mira¬ 
cles our Lord wrought are the best comment on this 
chapter, which predicts those wondrous works, and the 
glorious state of the Christian church.” 

Jesus likened the world to a field of ripening grain. 
The imagery of Isaiah and the other prophets of 
Israel was always before Him. We look upon Him as 
He sows the seed of self-sacrifice for the good of others, 
and follow Him, in the alleviation of human suffering 
and sorrow, the bearing of the world’s sin, and the 
dispensing of joy and gladness to all around Him, and 
we learn the true nature of gospel work. We study the 
growing harvest under the fostering care and cultiva¬ 
tion of the Holy Spirit, and are led to exclaim, “ What 
hath God wrought? ” While it is true that much evil 




112 The Kingdom and Coming of Christ 


abounds in Christian lands, yet when we compare the 
blessings of our Christian civilization with the condi¬ 
tions that still prevail in non-Christian lands, we can 
say with gratitude, “ The wilderness and solitary places 
have been made glad, and the desert rejoices and blos¬ 
soms as the rose.” 

But it was not the increased fertility of the soil, and 
the multiplication of physical and material benefits of 
the people that occupied the centre of the field in the 
prophet’s vision. He was concerned with the revival 
of righteousness, and the whole-hearted return of the 
people to God and the highway of holiness. This he 
looked for under the gospel of the Messiah. Having a 
vision of this time he said, “ And a highway shall be 
there, and a way, and it shall be called The Way of 
holiness; the unclean shall not pass over it; but it shall 
be for those; the wayfaring men, though fools, shall 
not err therein. No lion shall be there, no ravenous 
beast shall go up thereon, it shall not be found there; 
but the redeemed shall walk there: and the ransomed 
of the Lord shall return, and come to Zion with songs 
and everlasting joy upon their heads: they shall obtain 
joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee 
away.” (Isa. 35: 8-10.) 

In this chapter, the prophet is setting forth the 
blessings to be enjoyed under the Messiah, and addresses 
the teachers of the gospel, to show them that it was 
their business to encourage and direct the people in 
their expectation of redemption. The miracles which 
Christ should work are explicitly mentioned. These 
could not be more clearly and graphically described if 
the passages were taken from the Gospels. “ Then the 
eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the 
deaf shall be unstopped. Then shall the lame man leap 




The Purpose of the Gospel 


113 


as a hart, and the tongue of the dumb sing: for in the 
wilderness shall waters break out, and streams in the 
desert.” (Isa. 35: 5, 6.) 

The Gospel points out the way of holiness so clearly 
that the unlearned shall not err therein, and evil men,— 
the lions and ravenous beasts,— shall be excluded from 
the kingdom of Christ. The ransomed shall rejoice 
with songs of joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing 
shall flee away. It is almost criminal for men to at¬ 
tempt to rob this scripture of its glorious gospel set¬ 
ting in a vain endeavor to prop up a fanciful theory. 

Daniel’s interpretation of the perplexing dream of 
Nebuchadnezzar, king of Bab}don, is another prophecy 
seized upon by the millennialists to prove that the mil¬ 
lennial kingdom is a necessity to fulfil the terms of Old 
Testament prophecy. 

Daniel' said, 44 Thou sawest till that a stone was cut 
out without hands, which smote the image upon his feet 
that were of iron and of clay, and brake them to pieces. 
Then was the iron, the clay, the brass, the silver, and 
the gold broken to pieces together, and became like 
chaff of the summer threshing floors; and the wind car¬ 
ried them awa} 7 that no place was found for them: and 
the stone that smote the image became a great moun¬ 
tain, and filled the whole earth.” (Dan. 2: 34, 35.) 

Premillennialists place the world-triumph of this 
mysterious stone after the second coming of Christ; 
because Daniel said this vision of the great image and 
its disastrous fate was to show the king, 44 What shall 
be in the latter days.” (Dan. 2:28.) They quite 
arbitrarily define the phrase, 44 the latter days,” as 
meaning the times of their millennial period. The 
literal rendering is 44 in the after days,” or 44 hereafter.” 
That is the rendering given in the interpretation of the 




114 The Kingdom and Coming of Christ 


dream. And it is certainly the meaning of Jacob in 
blessing his sons. (Gen. 49:1.) When Joel prophe¬ 
sied of the gracious benefits of the outpouring of the 
spirit of God upon all flesh, he said, “ And it shall come 
to pass afterwards.” (Joel 2:16, 17.) Peter ap¬ 
plied that prophecy to the experiences of Pentecost, 
saying, “ But this is that which was spoken by the 
Prophet Joel; and it shall come to pass in the last days , 
saith God.” 

In this case, the phrase meant what would happen to 
the dominions of the king, and the immediately succeed¬ 
ing empires, and it adumbrates the times of the Mes¬ 
siah. Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown’s Commentary 
says, “ It refers to the whole future including Messi¬ 
anic days, which is the last dispensation.” The gospel 
writers considered that they were living in “ the last 
days.” The statement of Peter at Pentecost can have 
no other meaning. The writer to the Hebrews says, 
“ God hath in these last days spoken unto us by His 
Son.” (Heb. 1:1, 2.) 

The Book of Daniel, especially the dream-image of 
Nebuchadnezzar, occupies such a prominent place in 
the millennial theory that it is worthy of careful exam¬ 
ination. The first question that presses for answer is 
the identity of the four kingdoms represented by this 
composite and imposing colossus of the king-dreamer. 
The interpretation very definitely states that the head 
of gold was the kingdom of Babylon of which the 
dreamer was ruler. “ After thee, shall arise another 
kingdom inferior to thee, and another third kingdom 
of brass which shall bear rule over all the earth; and 
the fourth kingdom shall be strong as iron.” (Dan. 
2:39, 40.) 

There is a notable difference of opinion among 





The Purpose of the Gospel 


115 


scholars and commentators regarding the identity of 
these kingdoms. Some maintain that they are Baby¬ 
lon, Medo-Persia, Greece, and Rome. 

The millennialists found their theory upon this divi¬ 
sion of the empires. For instance, Rev. James M. 
Gray, D.D., Dean of Moody Bible Institute, Chicago, 
in his little book, Prophecy and the Lord's Return, 
page 85, says, 44 These times would be broken up into 
four periods coincident with the successive rules of the 
Babylonian, Persian, Grecian, and Roman Empires.” 
44 The Roman Empire, which, it is to be remembered, is 
potentially in existence still, forming and controlling 
the character of the whole world, is towards the end 
divided into ten kingdoms, to be federated, as our 
prophet teaches, under one head — the little horn with 
eyes like the eyes of a man and a mouth speaking great 
things.” (Ibid., page 85.) Thus the Roman Empire 
is not only the fourth in the series represented by Nebu¬ 
chadnezzar’s colossus, but the last world monarchy. 
All the monarchies that have existed since the Roman 
Empire was broken to pieces by the northern tribes 
are not recognized in the king’s dream-image. 44 This 
colossus represented the Gentile dominion of the world, 
from the time of Nebuchadnezzar until the end of this 
age, when Christ shall come again to set up His king¬ 
dom upon the earth. Further, it represents this do¬ 
minion as divided into four world-empires: the Baby¬ 
lonian symbolized by the head of gold; the Medo-Per- 
sian by the breast and arms of silver; the Grecian by 
the belly and sides of brass; and the Roman, by the 
legs of iron and the feet part of iron and part of clay.” 
(Ibid., page 102.) Again, the author is 'at consider¬ 
able pains to prove that the hour of judgment on Baby¬ 
lon is still future, and 44 the prophecy of Babylon’s 




116 The Kingdom and Coming of Christ 


destruction is yet to be fulfilled.” ( Ibid ., page 114.) 

This is the latest millennial interpretation of the 
dream-image. It does not agree with Daniel’s interpre¬ 
tation, but that does not seem to make much difference, 
as long as it supplies apparent support to the millennial 
theory. But there is a wide divergence of opinion 
among millennialists, in the working out of these king¬ 
doms which creates a suspicion that, after all, their in¬ 
spiration is not wholly divine. There seems to be a 
good deal of human frailty and uncertainty in it, that 
the best of them cannot wholly overcome. 

As a matter of fact, there are very serious difficul¬ 
ties in the way of proving that the Roman Empire was 
the fourth kingdom of this “ colossal image,” or, for 
that matter, whether it is anywhere referred to in 
Daniel as a world power. A careful study of the image 
as described and interpreted by Daniel, makes it plain 
that these were political kingdoms, so connected as to 
produce the image of a complete man, and that they 
w T ere to follow one another in regular order of succes¬ 
sion, each kingdom growing out of the former. The 
student of history is confronted by the fact that the 
Grecian Empire of Alexander the Great was divided 
into four kingdoms of which the Syrian held sway over 
the land of the Jews for nearly three centuries before 
the Roman Empire got a footing in Asia. Further¬ 
more, the Roman Empire, notwithstanding Dr. Gray’s 
“ potential ” existence, whatever that may mean, was 
broken to pieces as a political kingdom about fourteen 
hundred years ago. 

Some eminent writers on Daniel noting these diffi¬ 
culties and impressed by the extent and power of the 
Syrian kingdom under the Seleucid Kings, make it 
the fourth kingdom. But both these theories combine 




The Purpose of the Gospel 


117 


Media and Persia as one kingdom. Whatever may be 
the facts of history, the author of the Book of Daniel 
looked upon these as two distinct kingdoms. It is his 
view that we must take, for he is both the discoverer 
and interpreter of the Imperial dream. He closes the 
account of Belshazzar’s sacrilegious feast with the state¬ 
ment, “ In that night was Belshazzar the king of the 
Chaldeans slain. And Darius the Median took the 
kingdom.” (Ch. 5: 30, ’31.) He dates his own vision 
by the great river Hiddekel “ in the third year of Cyrus 
King of Persia.” (Ch. 10:1.) While he repeatedly 
records appeals to “ the laws of the Medes and the Per¬ 
sians which altereth not ” (Chap. 6:8), he clearly dis¬ 
tinguishes between the two kingdoms. There certainly 
was a period when the Medians under Darius ruled over 
defeated Babylon. Darius re-organized that kingdom, 
by appointing over it “ an hundred and twenty princes 
which should be over the whole kingdom; and over these 
three presidents.” (Ch. 6:1, 2.) He also made a de¬ 
cree “ unto all people, nations, and languages that 
dwell in all the earth.” (Ch. 6: £5.) Furthermore, in 
the vision of the ram and the he-goat (Chapter 8), clear 
distinction is again made between the kingdoms of 
Media and Persia. “ Then I lifted up mine eyes, and 
saw, and behold, there stood before the river a ram 
which had two horns: and the two horns were high; but 
one was higher than the other, and the higher came up 
last.” (Verse 3.) The interpretation is, “The ram 
which thou sawest having two horns are the kings of 
Media and Persia.” (Verse 20.) 

“ The ram had two horns; that is two kingdoms , viz., 
Media and Persia; but one was higher than the other; 
and the higher came up last. Media y signified by the 
shorter horn , was the more ancient of the two king- 




118 The Kingdom and Coming of Christ 


doms. Persia , the higher horn , had come up but latety, 
and was of little historic or political importance till 
the time of Cyrus; but in the reigns of this prince and 
his immediate successors, Persia attained a political 
consequence greatly superior to that possessed at any 
time by the kingdom of Media; therefore, it is said to 
have been the higher , and to have come up last.” (Dr. 
A. Clark’s Commentary.) The second kingdom was to 
be inferior to the first and also the third. This was 
the relative strength of Media, which we identify as 
the second kingdom. Therefore the four kingdoms that 
were before the writer of the Book of Daniel were: 
Babylon, Media, Persia, and Grecia. If the unity of 
the book is to be maintained, the various visions de¬ 
scribed therein, predicting the rise and fall of kingdoms, 
must be consistent with each other. 

In the vision of the four great beasts that came up 
out of the troubled sea (Chapter 7), and the vision of 
the ram and the he-goat (Chapter 8), Grecia is clearly 
defined as the fourth great kingdom. In the latter vi¬ 
sion, Babylon does not come into view. Its fate had 
been sealed. It is only the three: Media, Persia, and 
Grecia, that are yet to make history. Grecia is fea¬ 
tured as the rough he-goat, and “ the great horn that 
is between his eyes is the first king.” (Ch. 8:21.) 
The identity of Alexander the Great as this king is 
unmistakable. When he died, the kingdom was divided 
into four parts, according to the vision, “ Now that 
being broken, w r hereas four stood up for it, four king¬ 
doms shall stand up out of the nation.” These visions 
do not give the historical events in regular historical 
order, hence the difficulty in the absence of reliable and 
complete contemporary history of obtaining a perfectly 
satisfactory explanation of every detail, and of filling 





The Purpose of the Gospel 


119 


in the gaps. Any attempts to do this would be foreign 
to the purpose of our study. We therefore confine 
ourselves to the general outline of events as indicated 
by Daniel. 

The fourth beast, having subdued the earth, pro¬ 
duced ten horns. (Chap. 7:7.) But previous to the 
appearance of these ten horns, there were four horns, 
and of these one of them, a “ little horn,” plucked up 
by the roots the three other horns that were before it. 
These outstanding features serve to identify the fourth 
kingdom. Grecia was broken into four kingdoms. 
“ In the latter time of their kingdom, when the trans¬ 
gressors are come to the full, a king of fierce counte¬ 
nance, and understanding dark sentences, shall stand 
up, and his power shall be mighty.” (Chap. 8: 9, 22, 
23.) This little horn was undoubtedly the fierce and 
terrible Antiochus Epiphanes, the Syrian king, who sub¬ 
dued the other kingdoms of the Diadochi, in which the 
Grecian Empire was divided. In the Seleucidae 
dynasty, there were ten kings that preceded Antiochus 
Epiphanes. This, then, would seem to be the order in 
which the vision worked out. Grecia, the fourth beast, 
was divided into four kingdoms, of these one under 
Seleucus was composed of Upper Asia. The eleventh 
in the succession of the Seleucid kings was Antiochus 
Epiphanes, who made conquest of the whole country. 

Another point of identity of the fourth kingdom is 
the mineral characteristic. The change of images in¬ 
volves difficulties, but still common characteristics ap¬ 
pear. For instance, the fourth beast “ had great teeth 
of iron; it devoured and brake in pieces, and stamped 
the residue with the feet of it.” (Chap. 7:7.) The 
fourth kingdom of Nebuchadnezzar’s colossus was part 
of iron and part of clay. “ And the fourth kingdom 




120 The Kingdom and Coming of Christ 


shall be strong as iron: forasmuch as iron breaketh in 
pieces and subdueth all things: and as iron breaketh all 
these, shall it break in pieces and bruise.” (Chap. 2: 
33, 40.) It is difficult to see how in such enigmatical 
imagery it is possible to get a more complete identity. 
The fourth and iron kingdom of the colossus, corre¬ 
sponds to the fourth beast with iron teeth, which corre¬ 
sponds with the rough he-goat, with a great horn be¬ 
tween his eyes, which was the kingdom of Grecia under 
Alexander the Great. If this line of identity is cor¬ 
rect, and there does not seem to be any other that will 
harmonize the Book of Daniel, the interpretations of 
which must be accepted by the true exegete, the four 
kingdoms of the colossus, or dream-image, were Baby¬ 
lon, Media, Persia, and Grecia. 

Objection is urged against Grecia being the fourth 
kingdom on the ground that 44 the feet part of iron 
and part of clay ” were divided into ten toes, therefore 
the fourth kingdom was to be divided into ten kingdoms, 
whereas Grecia was divided into only four kingdoms, the 
Diadochi. If this objection were well founded it would 
rule out the Roman Empire as the fourth kingdom, be¬ 
cause it was not broken up into ten kingdoms by the 
conquering northmen. Many and ingenious shifts 
have been made to get ten kingdoms out of decadent 
Rome, but the outstanding feature of them all is the 
lack of agreement and the evident guesses at the conun¬ 
drum. Dr. James M. Gray, a leading premillennial 
teacher, has abandoned the hope of finding anything in 
history whereby these supposed ten kingdoms can be 
identified. He is satisfied that the 44 potential ” Roman 
Empire that is still in existence, in some undefined imag¬ 
inary way will yet come into view and be broken into 





The Purpose of the Gospel 


121 


ten kingdoms so as to satisfy the terms of the millennial 
interpretation of prophecy. He says: 

“ The prophet teaches that by and by Gentile domin¬ 
ion, as represented in this empire, shall be broken up 
into ten kingdoms. It is difficult to point out these 
kingdoms now, but doubtless a new alignment will be 
made ere long, so that the ten may be easily identified.” 
(Prophecy and the Lord y s Return , page 105.) 

But does the prophet teach that the fourth kingdom 
of the dream-image “ shall be broken up into ten king¬ 
doms ”? There is not a hint of such a division either 
in the description of the image or in the interpretation. 
In the vision of the fourth great beast two sets of horns 
are described, one of u ten horns,” and one of four; of 
the four one was a “ little horn.” But the interpre¬ 
tation says “ the ten horns of this kingdom are ten 
kings that shall arise.” These ten kings may not rule 
over ten kingdoms, they may be successive kings in the 
same kingdom. We have already given the most plausi¬ 
ble historic identity of these kings. After the death of 
Alexander the Great, the Grecian Empire was divided 
among his four principal generals. Cassander ruled 
Greece and Macedonia; Lysimachus in Asia Minor; 
Ptolemy in Egypt, Coele-Syria and Palestine; and 
Seleucus in Upper Asia. The ten kings were the con¬ 
quering Seleucidae. 

We now come to the mysterious stone that “ was cut 
out without hands, which smote the image upon his feet 
that were of iron and clay, and brake them in pieces.” 
(Ch. 2: 34*.) The interpretation is thus given: 

66 And in the days of these kings shall the God of 
heaven set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed: 
and a kingdom which shall not be left to other people, 





12& The Kingdom and Coming of Christ 

but it shall break in pieces and consume all these king¬ 
doms, and it shall stand for ever. Forasmuch as thou 
sawest that a stone was cut out of the mountain with¬ 
out hands, and that it break in pieces the iron, the 
brass, the clay, the silver, and the gold; the Great God 
hath made known unto thee what will come to pass here¬ 
after : and the dream is certain, and the interpretation 
sure.” (Ch. 2:44, 45.) 

A great variety of conjectures have been advanced 
in explanation of this stone. Perhaps the most fanci¬ 
ful is that of the millennialists, which holds that this 
victorious stone is yet wholly in the future, and is the 
millennial reign of Christ on earth, in bodily presence. 
This conjecture is disproved by the fact that the whole 
circumstance and setting of the dream make it a matter 
of immediate vital concern to the troubled king of Baby¬ 
lon. If the destruction of this stone was to be post¬ 
poned for thousands of years, all cause for anxiety on 
the part of the king would be immediately removed. 
But the interpretation distinctly states that the king¬ 
dom of Babylon, the kingdom of gold, was to be broken 
in pieces, by this stone. Some have taken the Roman 
Empire to be this stone, others have identified it with 
the Syrian kingdom under Antiochus Epiphanes. 
While a fairly reasonable argument is worked out in 
support of both of these hypotheses, none of them fully 
meet the demands of the whole vision. 

First of all, we must keep in view that the stone was 
not a person, but a kingdom over which God was the 
ruler. “ In the days of these kings, shall the God of 
heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be de¬ 
stroyed.” (Verse 44.) Not only would this kingdom, 
strike the feet of iron and clay and break them in 




The Purpose of the Gospel 


123 


pieces, but it would also break in pieces the silver and 
brass and gold. It was to be set up “ in the days of 
these kings,” and break in pieces all these kingdoms. 
It must, therefore, have been a kingdom that existed 
contemporaneously with those kingdoms. As there was 
no such earthly political kingdom, it must have been a 
heavenly spiritual kingdom, of which the pure and holy 
of God’s chosen people were the earthly citizens. 

Daniel was before the king of Babylon, who had de¬ 
stroyed Jerusalem with its holy temple, and had taken 
the Jews into captivity. Daniel was certainly looking 
forward to the restoration and the rebuilding of the 
temple. This hope was assuredly in the foreground of 
his vision. The restoration took place under Ezra and 
Nehemiah and began “ in the first year of Cyrus king 
of Persia.” (Ezra 1:1.) 

We have the counterpart of this stone in the vision 
of the four beasts. The dreamer says, 

I beheld until the thrones were cast down, and the 
Ancient of Days did sit, whose garment was white as snow, 
and the hair of His head like pure wool: His throne was 
like the fiery flame, and His wheels as burning fire. A 
fiery stream issued and came forth from before him; and 
thousand thousands ministered unto Him, and ten thou¬ 
sand times ten thousand stood before Him: the Judgment 
was set and the books were opened. I beheld then because 
of the voice of the great words which the little horn spake: 
I beheld even until the beast was slain, and his body de¬ 
stroyed and given to the burning flame. As for the rest 
of the beasts, they had their dominion taken away: yet 
their lives were prolonged for a season and a time. 

I saw in the night visions, and, behold, one like the Son 
of Man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the 
Ancient of Days and they brought Him near before Him. 
And there was given Him dominion, and glory, and a king¬ 
dom that all people, nations, and languages should serve 




124 The Kingdom and Coming of Christ 


Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion, which 
shall not pass away, and His kingdom that which shall not 
be destroyed. (Chap. 7 : 9 - 14 .) 

The following interpretation of this vision is quite 
full. Evidently the immediate meaning is that Anti- 
ochus Epiphanes is “ the horn that made war with the 
saints and prevailed against them.” (Verses 8, 21.) 
All the terms descriptive of this “ little horn,” his great 
swelling words, his blasphemies, his war with the saints, 
and his destruction of Jerusalem, the defilement of the 
temple, and taking away of the sacrifice, describe this 
king. The eleventh chapter of Daniel gives an enig¬ 
matical summary of the events by which he rose to 
power, his victories over the neighbouring members of 
the Diadochi, especially the Ptolemies of Egypt, and 
his war against Jerusalem, the taking away of the daily 
sacrifice, and the “ abomination that maketh desolate 
standing in the place where it ought not.” (Ch. 11: 
81.) The particular account of these attacks upon 
“ the saints of the Most High ” is given in the first Book 
of Maccabees. These books are not included in the 
canonical scriptures, but they are accepted as fairly 
reliable history. The account reads: 

So Alexander reigned twelve years and then died. And 
his servants bore rule every one in his place. And after 
his death, they all put crowns upon themselves; so did 
their sons after them many years: and evils were mul¬ 
tiplied in the earth. And there came out of them a wicked 
root, Antiochus, surnamed Epiphanes, son of Antiochus 
the king, who had been a hostage of Rome, and he reigned 
in the hundred and thirty and seventh year of the king of 
Greece. (1 Mac. 1 : 7 - 10 .) 

Then follows a summary of his deeds quite in line 




The Purpose of the Gospel 


125 


with the visions of Daniel, particularly his war against 
the Jews and his defilement of the temple. 

Then many of the people were gathered unto them, to 
wit. every one that forsook the law; and so they committed 
evils in the land; and drove the Israelites into secret 
places, even wheresoever they could flee for succour. Now 
the fifteenth day of the month casleu, in the hundred and 
forty and fifth year, they set up the abomination of deso¬ 
lation upon the altar, and builded idol altars throughout 
the cities of Juda on every side; and burnt incense at the 
doors of their houses and in the streets. (Verses 52, 54.) 

Here we have a fulfilment of the prophecies of Daniel 
regarding the deeds of the “ little horn ” that came out 
of the fourth beast. The Ancient of Days, who sat in 
judgment with the thousands ministering unto him, was 
none other than the Most High God. “ And judgment 
was given unto the saints of the Most High: and the 
time came that the saints possessed the kingdom.” 
(Dan. 7:22.) 

But who is the “ one like unto the Son of man who 
came with the clouds of heaven, and came unto the An¬ 
cient of Days ”? The explanation of Archdeacon 
Farrar on this phase of the vision is a very reasonable 
and consistent exposition. He says: 

That the vision is meant to indicate the Messianic the¬ 
ocracy cannot be doubted, but if we follow the interpreta¬ 
tion given by the angel himself in answer to Daniel's en¬ 
treaty the personality of the Messiah seems at least some¬ 
what subordinated or indistinct. (Dan. 7:15-28.) For 
the interpretation, without mentioning any person, seems 
to point only to the saints of Israel who are to inherit and 
maintain that divine kingdom which has already been 
thrice asserted and prophesied. It is the “ saints ” or 
holy ones, “ the saints of the Most High," upon whom the 




126 The Kingdom and Coming of Christ 


never ending sovereignty is conferred; and who these are 
cannot be misunderstood, for they are the very same against 
whom the little horn has been engaged in war. The Mes¬ 
sianic kingdom is here predominantly represented as the 
spiritual supremacy of the chosen people. Neither here, 
nor in chapter 2: 44, nor in chapter 12:3, does the writer 
separately indicate any Davidic king, or priest upon his 
throne, as had already been done by so many previous 
prophets. This vision does not seem to have brought into 
prominence the rule of any Divinely Incarnate Christ over 
the kingdom of the Highest. In this respect the “ one 
even as the Son of man,” comes upon us as a surprise, and 
seems to indicate that the true interpretation of that ele¬ 
ment of the vision is that the kingdom of the saints is here 
personified; so that as wild beasts were appropriate em¬ 
blems of the world powers, the reasonableness and sanctity 
of the saintly theocracy are indicated by a human form, 
which has its origin in the clouds of heaven, not in the miry 
and troubled sea. (Expositor’s Bible.) 

Another vision of Daniel worthy of examination in 
this connection, is that of the “ seventy weeks.” After 
studying the prophecy of Jeremiah concerning the 
seventy years’ captivity, Daniel prayed unto the Lord, 
and even while he was speaking, Gabriel, who had pre¬ 
viously visited him to help him, and informed him that 
“ seventy weeks were determined upon thy people.” 
This “ seventy weeks ” is divided into “ seven weeks,” 
“ three score and two,” and “ one week.” 

Very much has been written, with very uncertain re¬ 
sult's in the effort to define those time limits, and to fix 
dates. But in those years the very indifferent and con¬ 
flicting methods in reckoning time, the uncertainty of 
the starting point, and other difficulties that present 
themselves to chronologists are very serious problems. 

It is quite evident, however, that “ the seven weeks ” 
unto the Messiah the Prince and the restoration and 
building of Jerusalem, correspond to Jeremiah’s sev- 




The Purpose of the Gospel 


m 


enty years. This is the period from the captivity un¬ 
der Nebuchadnezzar to the restoration under Cyrus. 
The Authorized Version instead of translating the He¬ 
brew of these passages, has given us a transliteration 
capitalized, "which gives the impression that Messiah 
here means Jesus. The Revised Version corrects this 
by translating and making it read, 46 Unto the Anointed 
One, the Prince.” But who was this anointed prince? 
Commentators differ, but as the restoration was under 
Cyrus, king of Persia, whose spirit was stirred up by 
the Lord (Ezra 1:1), he is accepted by some eminent 
scholars as the anointed prince. This is agreeable to 
the prophecy of Isaiah, 64 Thus saith the Lord to his 
anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I have holden.” 
(Isa. 45:1.) 

44 After threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be 
cut off, but not for Himself.” (Dan. 9:26.) This is 
so like the cutting off of Jesus that one is inclined to 
settle in his mind at once that this was the immediate 
meaning of the prophet. It is quite natural to suppose 
that the prophet had before him some event connected 
with the kingdoms he was defining. As the 44 seven 
weeks ” pointed to the time of the restoration under 
Ezra and Nehemiah, so the sixty-two weeks would point 
to some outstanding event in Israel’s history connected 
with these kingdoms. We get a clue in the fact that 
while the 44 seven weeks ” points to the restoration of 
Jerusalem, the sixty-two weeks to the destruction of 
44 the city and the sanctuary ” by the people of the 
prince. This destruction was under Antiochus Epipha- 
nes, as we have seen above, whose war against 44 the 
saints of the Most High ” occupies such a large place 
in the Book of Daniel. But who is the Messiah that 
would be cut off? The same peculiarity of translation 




128 The Kingdom and Coming of Christ 


is found here as in the preceding passage. The Re¬ 
vised Version reads, “ The anointed one be cut off.” 
When Antiochus Epiphanes destroyed Jerusalem, 
Onias III was the rightful high priest and he was foully 
murdered. 

“ There can be no reasonable doubt that this is a 
reference to the deposition of the high priest Onias 
and his murder by Andronicus.” (Farrar, Expositor's 
Bible.) This startling event is thus described in the 
Maccabees. 

Wherefore Menelaus, taking Andronicus apart, prayed 
him to get Onias into his hands; who beiifg persuaded there¬ 
unto and coming to Onias in deceit, gave him his right hand 
with oaths; and though he was suspected by him, yet per¬ 
suaded he him to come forth of the sanctuary: whom forth¬ 
with he shut up without regard to Justice. For the which 
cause not only the Jews, but many also of other nations 
took great indignation, and were much grieved for the 
unjust murder of the man. (2 Mac. 4 : 34 , 35 .) 

Thus “ the anointed one ” w T as cut off. Following 
this, there was a restoration under Judas Maccabasus, 
and the overthrow of the power of Antiochus Epi¬ 
phanes. The detailed history of these times as given 
in Daniel and the Maccabees, as well as other writings, is 
most interesting and illuminating. 

Some scornfully reject this exposition of Daniel, be¬ 
cause they think it eliminates from these prophecies 
the Messianic hope. In this they err greatly. While 
they assuredly deal with the immediate conflicts and 
sufferings of Israel, under the oppressive world empires, 
they look forward to an ultimate triumph that can have 
its realization only in Christ and His gospels. There 
are in the prophecies of the Old Testament the immedi¬ 
ate and the more remote fulfilments. History certainly 




The Purpose of the Gospel 


129 


repeats itself. For instance, while the murder of the 
high priest, Onias III, is an undoubted fulfilment of the 
prediction, “ After three score and two weeks shall the 
anointed one be cut off,” the crucifixion of Jesus is the 
more complete fulfilment. By some methods of compu¬ 
tation, the sixty-two figure out the exact number of 
years from the restoration under Cyrus “ the Anointed 
Prince ” to the cutting off of Jesus, but there is such 
a variety of computations, and such a confusion of ver¬ 
sions that it is practically impossible to obtain any 
harmony in the dates. It is better to recognize the 
actual facts that we have not sufficient data to deter¬ 
mine exactly how the prophet computed the time, and 
therefore we are unable to eliminate all the apparent 
discrepancies. This in no way discredits the predic¬ 
tions. It simply admits what every scholar must, that 
there are things we do not know. 

It may be asked,— Do these great epochs in Israel’s 
history satisfy the predictions of a general pardon of 
sins and reconciliation as predicted in Chapter 9:24? 
Of course in all the Messianic prophecies there is a 
fulness of hope and salvation that overreaches all his¬ 
torical fulfilments, which can be explained by the fact 
that the prophets held in view that ideal state which 
can have its complete realization only in the fulness of 
the heavenly glory. It is the “ saints of the Most 
High ” in whom there is an end of sin, and complete 
reconciliation. This passage may apply to the great 
revival of religion under Nehemiah and Ezra (Neh., 
Chap. 8), the reformation under the Maccabees, or 
more particularly the great work of God under the full 
gospel of Jesus Christ. 

This historical interpretation of the prophecies of 
Daniel gives a sure basis for the Messianic hope, also 




130 The Kingdom and Coming of Christ 


the identity and sweep of the everlasting and triumph¬ 
ant kingdom of heaven as seen by the prophet. Thus 
in the dream-image, Daniel saw this kingdom, “ as a 
stone cut out of the mountain without hands ” and 
breaking in pieces the other kingdoms. Some exposi¬ 
tors overlook the fact that this kingdom broke in 
pieces not only the kingdom of iron and clay, but like¬ 
wise the kingdoms of brass, of silver, and of gold. No 
political kingdom did this, or could do it. These po¬ 
litical kingdoms followed each other in order of succes¬ 
sion. There was no earthly kingdom that existed con¬ 
temporaneously with all these kingdoms. No millen¬ 
nial kingdom that is still in the future could carry 
out this work of destruction. Neither was it the gos¬ 
pel of Jesus that broke down these kingdoms because 
they had all passed into history centuries before the 
advent of Jesus. The only remaining explanation is 
that it was the sovereign rule of the invisible God that 
set up these kingdoms, allowed them to fulfil their des¬ 
tiny, and then broke them down. 

This is certainly the import of the vision of the tree 
which so troubled the king of Babylon, the first great 
king. (Chap. 4.) This was the interpretation of 
Daniel. “ Till thou know that the most High ruleth 
in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever He 
will.” (Chap. 4:25.) 

The “ stone cut without hands ” indicated the king¬ 
dom, not of the literal Israel, but of the ideal Israel, 
44 the saints of the Most High” (Chap. 7), which is 
composed both of Jews and of Gentiles. “ The divinest 
side of Messianic prophecy is the expression of that un¬ 
quenchable hope, and of the indomitable faith which are 
the most glorious outcome of all that is most divine in 
the spirit of man. That faith and hope never have 




The Purpose of the Gospel 


131 


found even an ideal or approximate fulfilment save in 
Christ and his kingdom, which is now, and shall be 
without end.” (Farrar, Expositor's Bible.) 

This ideal kingdom of heaven is an everlasting king¬ 
dom. It is not to be estimated merely by the people 
who adhere to the literal Israel, whether the ancient, or 
the larger Israel of the gospel. The invisible hosts of 
heaven are a vital force in this kingdom. Paul de¬ 
scribes it as 44 the whole family in heaven, and in earth.” 
(Eph. 3:15.) The Ancient of Days in Daniel’s vi¬ 
sion had associated with Him 44 thousand thousands 
who ministered unto him.” (Dan. 7: 10.) 

The kingdom of heaven is everlasting. No breaks 
of human history can interrupt its continuity. Even 
though there may be a general apostasy, there are al¬ 
ways the hosts in heaven, and on earth i6 a remnant ac¬ 
cording to the election of grace.” (Rom. 11:5.) 

While the kingdom of heaven,— the realm and rule 
of God, both in heaven and in the hearts and lives of 
men,— always has been in existence, its revelation to 
*the world has been marked by great epochs in human 
history. For instance, the giving of the Law on Sinai, 
and the advent of Jesus and the revelations of the gos¬ 
pel. Between these two events, there was a very check¬ 
ered religious history, of lapses and revivals, under 
the rule of the theocracy, and the kings. There grew 
up the school of prophets who expounded the law and 
preached righteousness. These had constantly before 
them the final triumph of righteousness. Though the 
prophets themselves evidently did not understand the 
full meaning of the predictions they were sometimes led 
to make under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, they 
foresaw the ingathering of the nations under the rule 
of God, and the coming upon the world of the univer- 





132 The Kingdom and Coming of Christ 


sal blessings of the kingdom of heaven, <fi when the 
knowledge of the Lord will fill the earth as the waters 
cover the sea.” (Isa* 11:9; Hab. 2:14; Heb. 8:10— 
12 .) 

Thus what the bud is to the flower, the law and the 
prophets are to the gospel. Jesus strongly emphasized 
this relationship. He said, “ Think not that I am come 
to destroy the law and the Prophets; I am not come to 
destroy but to fulfil.” (Matt. 5:17.) His teaching 
of the extent and power of the kingdom of heaven is 
that it would overcome all opposition and fill the whole 
earth with its light and salvation. This teaching He 
put forth in the delightful parables of the “ mustard 
seed,” and the leaven in the measures of meal. (Matt. 
13:31-33.) 

Here we meet a strange perversion. Millennialists 
interpret these parables to mean that the whole world 
will be so permeated and overwhelmed with evil that it 
will be involved in helpless, hopeless ruin under the gos¬ 
pel dispensation. The only hope for the world is the 
second coming of Christ. There must be something 
radically wrong with a theory that leads its adherents 
to such a misconception of truth. But they say that 
leaven is a symbol of sin. “ As leaven permeates the 
whole mass of meal and (leavens or) changes its nature; 
even so sin will permeate the whole church of Christ, 
and destroy its purity and faith.” Of course, they 
quote scripture to enforce their argument and make 
it convincing. Jesus said unto His disciples, “ Beware 
of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees ” (Matt. 
16:6-12), meaning their false teaching. Paul also 
wrote, “ Purge out, therefore, the old leaven that ye 
may be a new lump. . . . Let us keep the feast, not 
with leaven of malice and wickedness.” (1 Cor. 5: 




The Purpose of the Gospel 


133 


6-8.) In these connections, leaven does symbolize sin. 
But that is no proof that it must symbolize sin in every 
connection. If that were true the meaning of the para¬ 
ble would be: “ The kingdom of heaven is the princi¬ 

ple of moral corruption that shall permeate the church 
until the whole world is corrupt.” That is a strange 
gospel to preach. There is certainly no hope or in¬ 
spiration in it. As a matter of fact, the teaching is so 
preposterous that one is appalled to think that any in¬ 
telligent Christians can entertain it for a moment. 

It is the permeating, transforming power of leaven 
that makes it such a striking symbol of sin. The same 
qualities make it equally impressive as a symbol of the 
regenerating power of divine grace or the kingdom of 
heaven. It was this power of saving grace that Jesus 
emphasized by the parable of the leaven. This symbol 
is carried beyond the individual atoms that form the 
mass to the mass itself. Not only is the individual be¬ 
liever saved, but the group of individuals who form the 
society is leavened by the gospel of the kingdom. 
“ The kingdom of heaven is like leaven which a woman 
took and hid in three measures of meal until the whole 
was leavened.” (Matt. 13: 33.) 

The parable of the mustard seed is also perverted to 
teach that the church is to grow as a shelter for evil 
persons which corrupt it beyond hope. These are rep¬ 
resented by the fowls of the air that lodge in its 
branches. This feature of the parable is only inciden¬ 
tal to its completeness. Even then there is no reason 
for supposing that the fowls are intended to mean evil 
people. The feature to be emphasized is the phenome¬ 
nal growth from the most insignificant beginning to the 
greatest proportions. This represents the growth of 
the kingdom of heaven. (Matt. 13: 31, 32.) 




134 The Kingdom and Coming of Christ 


But our attention is turned to the preceding parable 
of 44 the wheat and the tares.” Jesus said, 44 The king¬ 
dom of heaven is like unto a man which sowed good seed 
in his field: but while he slept the enemy came and sowed 
tares among the wheat and went his way.” (Matt. 13: 
24—30.) We are assured that the tares in the field 
represent evil persons in the kingdom of heaven. A 
glance at the interpretation of Jesus will show the ab¬ 
surdity of this contention. Jesus said, 44 The field is 
the world. The good seed are the children of the king¬ 
dom.” (Matt. 13:38.) Therefore, the field in which 
the tares were sown is neither the kingdom of heaven 
nor the church. The kingdom of heaven is not like 
unto the field but 44 like unto the man who sowed the 
good seed ” who 44 is the Son of Man.” (Verse 37.) 
The good seed, and they alone, are the children of the 
kingdom. The children of the wicked one, or the tares, 
are not in the kingdom, but in the field,— the world. 

The kingdom of heaven and the organized church are 
not identical. He would be a bold person who would 
claim that all church members are in the kingdom of 
heaven; there may be many who are not members of 
any church and yet who are in the kingdom. When 
millennialists begin to argue that the world is growing 
worse, and the church is decadent; and quote scripture 
to prove that this is according to the divine plan and 
cannot be otherwise, it matters not how things appear; 
they seem to take it for granted that the church was 
a strong and flourishing institution when Jesus spake 
these parables, whereas it was only being revealed. It 
was not until Pentecost that the full gospel was 
preached and the real work of world evangelism was 
commenced. 

The kingdom of heaven is not a visible earthly organ- 




The Purpose of the Gospel 


135 


ization. It is the sum total of the moral principles and 
spiritual powers under the ministry of the Spirit of 
God operating through spiritual agencies to rescue men 
from sin and save them for eternal glory. Paul gave 
a swift definition when he said, “ For the kingdom of 
heaven is not meat and drink; but righteousness and 
joy and peace in the Holy Ghost.” (Rom. 14:17.) 
This is the kingdom Jesus held in view when He said, 
“ But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and His right¬ 
eousness.” (Matt. 6:33.) It is also this kingdom 
that Jesus likened unto “ a man who sowed good seed 
in his field ”; 66 a grain of mustard seed which grew into 
a great tree ”; and “ leaven which a woman took 
and hid in three measures of meal until the whole was 
leavened.” No evil principle or person can enter into 
this kingdom. Jesus is authority for the very emphatic 
statement, that “ Except a man be born from above, he 
cannot see the kingdom of God.” (John 3:3.) Only 
by the leavening power of the kingdom of heaven, under 
the operation of the Spirit of God, has any millennialist 
ever obtained salvation from sin and acceptance with 
God. He has not been saved by virtue of correct views 
and theories on the second coming of Christ, but be¬ 
cause of his repentance toward God, and faith in the 
crucified Jesus, as the only and all-sufficient Saviour. 
By this same process of repentance and faith multi¬ 
tudes have been saved who are not premillennialists, 
in fact, have no definite opinions on the subject. The 
faith that has been so efficacious in saving men and 
women through the centuries still has virtue to heal all 
who will accept Jesus as the world’s Redeemer. In 
spite of millennial pessimism, the kingdom of heaven 
has been leavening the world with its marvellous evan¬ 
gelizing energy and saving power. The fact that the 




136 The Kingdom and Coming of Christ 


whole world has not been leavened and saved is no evi¬ 
dence that God intended that it should not be, or that 
God has given the kingdom over to “ the man of sin ” 
to be wholly corrupted by him. 

The figures of these parables of the “ mustard seed ” 
and “ the leaven ” are more comprehensive and illumi¬ 
nating than may appear to the casual reader. The 
growth of the seed, and the operation of the leaven de¬ 
pend upon fixed favorable conditions. Both the seed 
and the leaven must have favorable climatic as well as 
other conditions. For instance, the seed will not grow 
in the winter season. The leaven must be properly 
mixed in the measures of meal, and kept at a suitable 
temperature, or it will not leaven the mass. In like 
manner, there are definitely fixed conditions upon which 
the extension and development of the kingdom of heaven 
among men is determined. If it is asked why, after 
nineteen hundred years, the world has not been evangel¬ 
ized, or why the kingdom of heaven has not made more 
rapid progress, the ready answer is that the conditions 
of progress and Christian evangelization have not been 
complied with. The success of the apostolic period 
and the first centuries demonstrate the possibilities, as 
do also the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries with 
their grand evangelizing movements and missionary en¬ 
terprises. For over a thousand years, Christianity was 
chilled into torpidity by its unfortunate political alli¬ 
ances, theological controversies, and slavery to ritual¬ 
istic observances. Since the beginning of the Reforma¬ 
tion, the tides of religious reform and evangelism have 
surged up and down, but every new movement has 
reached a higher level. If in these times there seems 
to be a recession of evangelistic zeal and fervor, it may 
be merely the forerunner of another of those great re- 





The Purpose of the Gospel 


13 7 


vivals of religion such as marked the eighteenth cen¬ 
tury. In any case, it is no evidence that the gospel is 
inadequate for the salvation of the world, or that an 
entirely different dispensation must be established under 
the bodily presence and rule of the returned Lord. 
That an enormous amount of evangelizing work is yet 
to be done before the world will be saved is recognized 
by all intelligent Christians. This is no reason for 
decrying the gospel. It is a trumpet call of God for a 
deeper consecration and more self-denying service of 
Christ on the part of all Christians. If the churches 
of the world will conform more perfectly to the condi¬ 
tions of the gospel, the leaven of the kingdom of heaven 
implanted in this world by the lowly Nazarene, will con¬ 
tinue its leavening work until the whole lump is leavened. 

This truth, of the early teaching and parables of 
Jesus, was strongly emphasized by Him after His resur¬ 
rection. In His conversations with His disciples in 
which He prepared them for the great work of world 
evangelization committed unto them, we have the last 
words of Jesus on this subject. 

Then opened He their understanding, that they might 
understand the scriptures, and said unto them, “ Thus it is 
written, and thus it behooved Christ to suffer, and to rise 
from the dead the third day: and that repentance and re¬ 
mission of sins should be preached in His name among all 
nations, beginning at Jerusalem. And ye are witnesses of 
these things.” (Luke 24:45-47.) 

Just before the ascension He said, “ Ye shall receive 
power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: 
and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and 
in all Judea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost 
parts of the earth.” (Acts 9:8.) Then we have the 
great commission which is given in a slightly different 





138 The Kingdom and Coming of Christ 

language by the evangelists, Matthew and Mark. One 
gives the general statement, the other is more indi¬ 
vidual. Matthew records it, 44 All power is given unto 
me in heaven and in earth. Go, ye, therefore, and make 
disciples of all nations.” (Matt. 28:18, 19, R. V.) 
Mark, 44 Go ye into all the world and preach the gospel 
to every creature.” (Mark 16: 15.) 

The explanation that Jesus did not intend that every 
person would accept the gospel, or that the whole world 
would be converted, but only that 44 the gospel should 
be preached in all the world for a testimony of Him ” 
as a justification of the millennial view that the gospel 
was not intended for the world’s salvation is too flimsy 
a subterfuge for serious consideration. The clear and 
unmistakable meaning of the language of Jesus is 
that the preaching of the gospel to every creature is a 
distinct divine call to repentance and salvation. That 
this is the divine purpose of the gospel is certainly es¬ 
tablished in the charge, 44 Make disciples of all nations.” 
If any who hear refuse to repent and obey the gospel, 
44 their blood is upon their own heads.” If any who 
are sent fail to present a true testimony of the gospel, 
they have to give an account of their stewardship unto 
God. 

This divine commission is in perfect harmony with 
the teaching and predictions of the law and prophets. 
The only conclusion, therefore, is that the objective of 
the gospel of Jesus Christ is the complete evangeliza¬ 
tion of all nations, by the preaching of the Word to 
every creature even unto the uttermost parts of the 
earth. It was under the obligation and inspiration of 
this divine commission that Paul wrote, 44 1 am not 
ashamed of the gospel of Christ for it is the power of 
God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the 





The Purpose of the Gospel 


139 


Jew first, and also to the Gentiles.” (Rom. 1:16.) 

The scriptures certainly make it clear that it is God’s 
plan for the church to evangelize the world by the faith¬ 
ful preaching of the gospel of Jesus. He said, 44 Ye are 
the salt of the earth.” 44 Ye are the light of the 
world.” (Matt. 5:13, 14.) 

Dr. S. D. Gordon in one of his Quiet Talks repre¬ 
sents the angel Gabriel talking with the Master over the 
world’s salvation. Gabriel says: 

44 Master, you died for the whole world, down there, 
did you not? ” 

The Master replies, 44 Yes.” 

44 And do they all know about it ? ” 

44 Oh, no: Only a few in Palestine know about it so 
far.” 

44 Well, Master, what’s your plan? What have you 
done about telling the world that You died for them? 
What’s your plan ? ” 

44 Well, I asked Peter and James, and John and An¬ 
drew, and some more of them down there, just to make 
it the business of their lives to tell others, and others 
still, until the last man in the farthest circle has heard 
the story and felt the thrilling and thralling of it.” 

And Gabriel answers, with a sort of hesitating re¬ 
luctance as if he could see difficulties in the working 
of the plan: — 

44 Yes, but — suppose Peter fails. Suppose after a 
while John simply does not tell others. Suppose their 
descendants, the successors away off in the first edge 
of the twentieth century, get so busy about things that 
they do not tell others. What then? ” 

And back comes that quiet voice of Jesus : 

44 Gabriel, I haven’t made any other plans — I’m 
counting on them.” 








CHAPTER VII 


THE FULNESS OF THE GENTILES 

T HE relation of the Jews and Gentiles in the king¬ 
dom of God forms a very interesting and illuminat¬ 
ing topic of study. Under the Mosaic economy, the 
lines of racial and religious distinctions were closely 
drawn and rigidly observed. The times and conditions 
demanded this insulation of Israel to preserve the true 
faith. Was that insulation intended to be an eternal 
provision, or simply a temporary expedient? Accord¬ 
ing to the millennial scheme, the Jews must be preserved 
as a separate and distinct people, throughout both the 
gospel and millennial ages. There is nothing definite 
beyond the millennial period, but the inference is that 
this distinction must continue eternally. It is not in 
the divine plan that they should be converted by the 
gospel. Now they are dispersed among all nations, and 
mu9t remain in this scattered condition until the end 
of the gospel dispensation. But when Jesus comes 
again to establish His millennial kingdom, they will be 
gathered together from the four corners of the earth 
and re-organized under their old national banners. 
They will be exclusive proprietors of the Holy Land, 
with rebuilt Jerusalem as their capital city and the 
world metropolis and the returned Messiah as their 
king, occupying the restored throne of David. 

This gospel age is “ the times of the Gentiles,” 
that is, during this gospel dispensation, the world is 
being ruled by Gentile kings, in the absence of Jesus 
from the earth. These times began when Nebuchad- 
140 


The Fulness of the Gentiles 


141 


nezzar, king of Babylon, destroyed Jerusalem, and took 
the Jews into captivity. The millennialists are not 
agreed as to the exact beginning. Some claim that it 
was when king Zedekiah was taken captive, while others 
insist that the exact date of beginning was when Je- 
hoiachim was taken to Babylon. Whichever date is 
taken, according to millennial reckoning, 44 the fulness 
of the Gentiles ” has been reached, therefore the millen¬ 
nial kingdom of God must be at hand. They also dis¬ 
cover many signs of the times, agreeable to their mathe¬ 
matics and logic, that 44 the times of the Gentiles be 
fulfilled,” that this age is closing, and Jesus is coming 
immediately to dethrone the Gentile kings, and establish 
His glorious millennial reign. 

In former chapters we have reviewed the millennial 
theories of 44 the throne of David,” and the thousand 
year reign of Jesus. We have shown that their scrip¬ 
ture proof-texts do not justify their conclusions, and 
their interpretations seriously detract from the glory 
and power of Jesus, to 44 save his people from their 
sins.” (Matt. 1: 21.) It is not necessary to examine 
the 44 signs of the times ” by which these prophetic in¬ 
terpreters attempt to prove that these are 44 the last 
days.” Suffice it to note that these 44 signs of the 
times ” have been doing duty for over a thousand years, 
and the passing centuries have repeatedly disproved 
them, and shown their advocates to be false prophets. 
Of course they give a long array of scripture texts to 
support their contentions, but from generation to gen¬ 
eration, they have to do a great deal of recasting argu¬ 
ments, re-adjusting proof texts, and explaining, be¬ 
cause their predictions of 44 times and seasons ” have 
not materialized. All this raises serious doubts con¬ 
cerning the basis and accuracy of their calculations, 





1 42 The Kingdom and Coming of Christ 


their ability to read correctly “ the signs of the times,” 
notwithstanding their loudly acclaimed special divine 
illuminations. 

In our study of the scriptures, we must remember, 
that they are cast in Hebrew thought and manner of 
expression. The racial and national characteristics 
and peculiarities of the Jews predominate. The proph¬ 
ets setting forth the glories of the coming Messiah and 
His triumphs, featured the whole as the triumphs and 
glories of Israel. Consequently, later generations, giv¬ 
ing these predictions a purely national and material in¬ 
terpretation, were led to expect the political restora¬ 
tion of the kingdom of Israel under the Messiah, and 
when this was not realized, they quickly concluded that 
the claims of Jesus were sufficient evidence that He was 
an impostor. As we now study these prophecies in the 
light of gospel history, we can see how the Jews made 
their disastrous mistake by taking literally the highly 
figurative imagery of the prophets. The aim of the 
prophets was to reclaim their people from idolatry, and 
inspire them to loyal devotion to the God of Israel. 
While in attempting this, they featured the national 
triumphs under the Messiah and included the Gentiles 
in all the blessings of the new state, they foresaw the 
happy union of Jews and Gentiles under the standard 
of Christ, and the “ golden age ” when “ the knowledge of 
the Lord will fill the earth as the waters cover the sea.” 

The questions now before us are: Was it the plan 
and purpose of God to keep the Jews distinct from the 
Gentiles through all dispensations? Is the fact that 
for two thousand years the Jews have remained a dis¬ 
tinct people proof that God ordained it so, in order to 
have them a separate and exalted people in a coming 
dispensation? Is it the design of God in a coming age 




The Fulness of the Gentiles 


143 


to bring the Jews into the kingdom of God as a distinct 
race and irrespective of faith and character to exalt 
them above their Gentile brethren, and compel Jew and 
Gentile to assume the relative positions in the new age 
that they occupied under the Mosaic economy? 

All are agreed that the Hebrews were the chosen 
people of God. To them were “ committed the oracles 
of God.” (Rom. 3:2.) Through them, the pure prin¬ 
ciples of religion were preserved, and the revelations of 
God were developed until, “ the fulness of time was 
come, God sent forth His Son, made of a woman, made 
under the law, to redeem them that were under the 
law that they might receive the adoption of sons.” 
(Gal. 4:4, 5.) This election of Israel, however, was 
provisional, and preparatory to the fulness of time when 
the gospel of Jesus would be given to the whole world, 
and all nations would be brought to a knowledge of the 
true God. The provisional character of the Mosaic 
economy is clearly and convincingly explained in the 
Epistles to the Romans, Galatians, and Hebrews. A 
discussion of the reasons for electing Israel for a spe¬ 
cial people, and so providentially preserving them 
through the centuries until Christ came to fulfil the law 
and the prophets, does not come within the range of 
the present work. We simply note the fact in passing 
that the whole situation might be before us. 

The divine purpose in calling Abraham and preserv¬ 
ing his seed was not to establish and develop a political 
kingdom, but to bring the people of the world under the 
moral government of God. The development of the 
kingdom of Israel was not designed and inspired by 
God. It resulted from the people’s perversity, and con¬ 
trary to the divine will. The people were ambitious to 
have a king, and be like the surrounding nations. This 




144 The Kingdom and Coming of Christ 


was a rejection of God and the theocracy. One of the 
unfortunate results of the organization of the kingdom 
was the development of national pride and racial preju¬ 
dice. Of course, the Mosaic economy insulated the 
Israelites by prohibiting intermarriage with idolatrous 
nations. This was a wise provision to preserve the 
purity of their religious faith and worship. The aim 
and purpose of God as revealed in the ritual of Leviti¬ 
cus and the discourses of Deuteronomy were to build 
up a people in righteousness and true holiness, that 
through them salvation might come unto the whole 
world. 

Back of the Mosaic economy is the Abrahamic Cove¬ 
nant which formed its ground work. This Covenant 
with Abraham was not national or racial. It included 
all nations. When God called Abram out of Haran, 
He said, “ And I will bless them that bless thee, and 
curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all the 
families of the earth be blessed.” (Gen. 12:3.) As 
the covenant promise developed, God said repeatedly, 
“ And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be 
blessed.” (Gen. 18:18; 22:18; and 26:4.) Peter, 
when preaching in the temple, quotes this prediction as 
giving the sweep of the covenant promises to be fulfilled 
in Christ the Prophet like unto Moses, saying, “ Ye 
are the children of the prophets, and of the covenants 
which God made with our fathers, saying unto Abra¬ 
ham, And in thy seed shall all the kindreds of the earth 
be blessed.” (Acts 3:22-25.) Paul in his epistle to 
the Gentile Galatians gives a detailed exposition of these 
covenant promises, and how they were being fulfilled to 
the nations by their conversion through faith in Jesus, 
“ even as Abraham believed God and it was accounted 
to him for righteousness. . . . And the Scriptures fore- 




The Fulness of the Gentiles 


145 


seeing that God would justify the heathen through 
faith, preached before the gospel unto Abraham, say¬ 
ing, 6 In thee shall all the nations of the earth be 
blessed; so then they which are of faith are blessed with 
faithful Abraham.’ ” (Gal. 3: 6, 8, 9.) He proceeds 
to show how Christ fulfilled the promise, “ That the 
blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles 
through Jesus Christ. . . . He saith not, and to seeds 
as of many; but as of one, and to thy seed which is 
Christ.” (Gal. 3:14, 16.) 

The covenant promises make no distinctions between 
the Jews and the Gentiles in their relations to salva¬ 
tion through faith. “ For the promise that he should 
be the heir of the world was not made to Abraham or 
to his seed, through the law, but through the righteous¬ 
ness of faith.” (Rom. 3:13—17.) 

We turn to the prophets, and find that their visions 
of the blessings of the Messiah’s kingdom were to come 
alike upon the Jews and the Gentiles. This is pre¬ 
eminently true of the predictions of Isaiah, the Messi¬ 
anic prophet. A few representative passages are suf¬ 
ficient to indicate the line of research. In a most glow¬ 
ing description of the offices of Christ in the gospel 
dispensation, the prophet is inspired to say, 

“ Behold my servant, whom I uphold; mine elect in 
whom my soul delighteth; I have put my spirit upon 
him: he shall bring judgment unto the Gentiles.” (Isa. 
42:1.) It is to be noted that j udgment in this place 
means “ the law to be published by Messiah, the institu¬ 
tion of the gospel,” and is equivalent to “ he shall bring 
salvation to the Gentiles.” This interpretation is vin¬ 
dicated by verse six, “ I the Lord have called thee in 
righteousness, and will hold thy hand, and will keep 
thee, and will give thee for a covenant to the people, for 




146 The Kingdom and Coming of Christ 


a light to the Gentiles.” (Isa. 42:6.) And again He 
said, “ It is a light thing that thou shouldest be my 
servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and to restore 
the preserved of Israel: I will also give thee for a light 
to the Gentiles, that thou mayest be my salvation unto 
the end of the earth.” (Isa. 49:6.) Study carefully 
this prediction. 44 Arise, shine; for thy light is come, 
and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee. For, be¬ 
hold the darkness shall cover the earth, and gross dark¬ 
ness the people; but the Lord shall rise upon thee, and 
His glory shall be seen upon thee. And the Gentiles 
shall come to thy light, and kings to the brightness of 
thy rising. Lift up thine eyes round about, and see: 
All they gather themselves together, they come to thee: 
thy sons shall come from far, and thy daughters shall 
be nursed at thy side. Then shalt thou see and flow 
together, and thine heart shall fear, and be enlarged; 
because the abundance of the sea shall be converted unto 
thee, the forces of the Gentiles shall come unto thee.” 
(Isa. 60:1-5.) 

The subject of this chapter is the great increase and 
the flourishing condition of the church of God by the 
conversion and accession of the heathen nations. This 
subject is displayed in the most splendid colours under 
a great number of images highly poetical, and sets forth 
the triumphs of the gospel and the perfecting of the 
church of God. Jesus and the faithful worshippers of 
God saw in the gospels the fulfilment of these prophe¬ 
cies. When the parents of Jesus brought Him into the 
temple for circumcision, the aged Simeon 44 took Him 
up in his arms and blessed God and said, 4 Lord, now 
lettest thou thy servant depart in peace according to 
thy word: for mine eyes have seen thy salvation, which 
thou hast prepared before the face of all people; a 





The Fulness of the Gentiles 


147 


light to lighten the Gentiles, and the glory of thy peo¬ 
ple Israel.’ 55 (Luke 2 :28—32.) When the Jews cre¬ 
ated a disturbance in the synagogue in Antioch in 
Psidia, Paul and Barnabas waxed bold, and said, “ It 
is necessary that the word of God should first have been 
spoken unto you: but seeing you put it from you, and 
judge yourselves unworthy of eternal life, lo, we turn 
to the Gentiles. For so hath the Lord commanded us, 
saying, 4 I have set thee to be a light of the Gentiles, 
that thou shouldst be for salvation unto the ends of 
the earth.’” (Acts 13:46, 47.) When a prisoner 
in Rome, Paul preached the gospel to all who came unto 
him. 44 He expounded and testified the kingdom of 
God, persuading them concerning Jesus, both out of 
the law of Moses, and out of the prophets from morning 
until evening.” When some of the Jews believed not he 
recalled the prophecies of Isaiah, and added, 44 Be it 
known, therefore, unto you, that the salvation of God 
is sent to the Gentiles and they will hear it.” (Acts 
28:23-28.) 

The intense prejudices of the Jews against the Gen¬ 
tiles are well known. These were so deeply imbedded 
in the Jewish mind and sentiment, that in spite of the 
divine commission, the apostles, being loyal Jews, could 
not condescend to go to the nations with the gospel of 
light and salvation. At Pentecost and after, the whole 
thought and attention of the apostles were occupied 
with ministering to the Jews. Even when an urgent 
call for instruction came from the Roman centurion 
Cornelius, it required a special and startling revelation, 
to enable Peter to break through the entanglements of 
Judaism, and minister unto this devout proselyte to 
the worship of the true God. (Acts 10.) He had to 
learn, that he whom God had cleansed is not common 




148 The Kingdom and Coming of Christ 


or unclean. When Peter reached the home of Cornelius 
and heard his stirring experience, so completely in har¬ 
mony with his own vision, he realized the sweep of the 
divine commission, “ Go ye, therefore, and preach the 
gospel to every creature,” and he said, “ I perceive of 
a truth that God is no respecter of persons; but in 
every nation he that feareth God and worketh right¬ 
eousness is accepted of him.” (Acts 10:'34, 35.) But 
this break with Jewish prejudice raised a strong pro¬ 
test from his brethren at Jerusalem, and he was called 
upon to appear before the church, and explain his ir¬ 
regular conduct. They of the circumcision were so 
incensed over this pollution of the life of the church 
that they contended with him, and preferred the serious 
charge: 

“ Thou wentest in to men uncircumcised and didst 
eat with them.” (Acts 11:3.) Peter met their 
charge frankly and “ rehearsed the matter from the be¬ 
ginning, and expounded it by order unto* them,” closing 
with this silencing challenge: “ Forasmuch, then, as 

God gave them the like gift as he did us, who believed 
on the Lord Jesus Christ; what was I that I could with¬ 
stand God? When they heard these things, they held 
their peace and glorified God, saying, c Then hath God 
also to the Gentiles granted repentance unto life.’ ” 
(Acts 11:17, 18.) 

The next great event preparatory to the fulness of 
the Gentiles was the conversion of Saul of Tarsus and 
his call to be “ the apostle to the Gentiles.” He gave 
the explicit terms of this divine commission in the ac¬ 
count of his conversion given to King Agrippa. He 
said, “ And I said, ‘ Who art thou, Lord ? 9 And He 
said, ‘I am Jesus whom thou persecutest. But rise, 
and stand upon thy feet; for I have appeared unto thee 




The Fulness of the Gentiles 


149 


for this purpose, to make thee a minister and a witness 
both of these things which I have seen, and of those 
things in thee which I will appear unto thee; delivering 
thee from the people, and from the Gentiles, unto whom 
now I send thee, to open their eyes, and turn them 
from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to 
God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, £nd 
inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith 
that is in me.’ ” (Acts 26: 15-18.) 

It was in the Gentile city of Antioch that Paul and 
Barnabas were formally ordained to missionary work 
(Acts 13:1—3), and from which they set out on their 
great missionary tours among the Gentiles. But strong 
opposition developed against admitting the Gentiles 
into the full privileges of the Christian communion 
without circumcision. That is, a strong section of the 
disciples contended that the Gentile converts must be¬ 
come really Jews before they could be saved and enjoy 
the covenant blessings. This was the first great con¬ 
troversy that divided the Christian church into con¬ 
tending parties. So great was the dissension and dis¬ 
putation in Antioch, created by some men who “ came 
down from Judea,” that Paul and Barnabas were sent 
to Jerusalem to consult with the other Apostles, and a 
general council was called to consider the matter. 
“ When there had been much disputing, Peter rose up, 
and said unto them: 

Men and brethren, ye know how that a good while ago 
God made choice among us, that the Gentiles by my mouth 
should hear the word of the gospel and believe. And God 
which knoweth the hearts bear them witness, giving them 
the Holy Ghost even as He did unto us; and put no dif¬ 
ference "between us and them, purifying their hearts by 
faith. Now, therefore, why tempt ye God, to put a yoke 
upon the neck of the disciples which neither our fathers 




150 The Kingdom and Coming of Christ 


nor we are able to bear? But we believe that through the 
grace of our Lord Jesus Christ we shall be saved even as 
they. Then all the multitude kept silence and gave audi¬ 
ence to Paul and Barnabas declaring what miracles and 
wonders God had wrought among the Gentiles by them. 
(Acts. 15:6-12.) 

In this discussion of the relation of the Jews and 
Gentiles to the kingdom of God under the gospel of 
Jesus, there is no question of political organization or 
rule. It was purely a question of religious rights and 
liberties. The decision of the council was that God 
had put no difference between the Jews and the Gen¬ 
tiles, but had received both into His kingdom on equal 
terms of faith and repentance, where they enjoyed equal 
privileges, without the Gentiles having to submit to cir¬ 
cumcision and the ritualistic observances of Judaism. 
This decision brings into bold relief the fact that the 
Mosaic law and covenant of the wilderness and the sub¬ 
sequent political organization, were only provisional, 
had become effete, and were abolished by the gospel 
of Jesus and the kingdom of heaven which they fore¬ 
shadowed. Here we get the point of distinction be¬ 
tween the old and new covenants, so discriminatingly 
discussed and clearly defined in the Epistle to the He¬ 
brews. It is a very common mistake to think of the 
Old covenant as contrasted with the New, as the entire 
Old Testament, including the ancient covenants with 
Abraham and the Patriarchs. A more careful reading 
will show that it was the Mosaic Covenant of the Wil¬ 
derness, the law of ordinances that gave place to the 
new or gospel covenant. (Compare ILeb. 9 with Ex. 
24:3-8.) When this provisional covenant was ful¬ 
filled in Christ, the gracious promises of the Abrahamic 
covenant came into full view. This was the basis of 





The Fulness of the Gentiles 


151 


Paul’s theology as he explained in his epistles to the Ro¬ 
mans and Galatians. Even circumcision was a pro¬ 
visional rite in its outward administration, but everlast¬ 
ing in its internal and spiritual symbolism. The uni¬ 
versal provision of salvation by faith, preceded circum¬ 
cision, its sign and symbol. Abraham was justified by 
faith. He “ believed God and it was accounted unto 
him for righteousness.” (Rom. 4:3.) There has been 
no change in this condition and principle of salvation. 
Under the gospel, “ All that believe are justified from 
all things, from which they could not be justified by 
the law of Moses.” (Acts 13:39.) The identity of 
the Abrahamic and gospel covenant is established, 
for under both, salvation was by grace not by the 
works of the law, or the ritualistic observances. Thus 
“ the promise, that he should be the heir of the world, 
was not to Abraham, or his seed, through the law, but 
through the righteousness of faith.” (Rom. 4:13.) 
“ Therefore, it is of faith, that it might be by grace; 
to the end that the promise might be sure to all the 
seed; not to that only which is of the law, but to that 
also which is of the faith of Abraham; who is the father 
of us all. (As it is written, I have made thee a father 
of many nations) before (margin, like unto) him whom 
he believed, even God, who quickeneth the dead, and 
calleth those things that be not as though they were.” 
(Rom. 4: 17.) The ceremonial law, or Mosaic Cove¬ 
nant, that came between the Abrahamic Covenant and 
the fulness of the gospel in Jesus, did not annul or 
modify this ancient gospel promise to the world. Paul 
is at considerable pains to explain this. He said: 

Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being 
made a curse for us; for it is written “ cursed is every one 
that hangeth on a tree ”: that the blessing of Abraham 




152 The Kingdom and Coming of Christ 


might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ; that we 
might receive the promise of the spirit through faith. 
Brethren, I speak after the manner of men; though it be 
but a man’s covenant, yet if it be confirmed, no man dis- 
annuleth or addeth thereto. Now to Abraham and his seed 
were the promises made. He saith not, and to seeds as of 
many; but as of one, and to thy seed, which is Christ. 
And this I say that the covenant, that was confirmed before 
of God in Christ, the law, which was four hundred and 
thirty years after, cannot disannul, that it should make the 
promise of none effeet. For if the inheritance be of the 
law, it is no more promise; but God gave it to Abraham by 
promise. (Gal. 3: 13-18.) 

These scriptures make it sufficiently clear that there 
are not two gospels, one for the circumcision and one 
for the uncircumcision, as some millennialists contend. 
There is one gospel for Jews and Gentiles universal 
both in its principles and in application, and this gos¬ 
pel was confirmed by God to Abraham when He prom¬ 
ised, “ In thee shall all the nations of the earth be 
blessed.” 

It is true that Paul speaks of the gospel of uncir¬ 
cumcision being committed unto him, and the gospel of 
circumcision being committed to Peter. (Gal. 2:7.) 
He, however, could not possibly mean that there were 
two distinct gospels, or that there was one set of con¬ 
ditions for salvation for the Jews, and another for the 
Gentiles, because all his teaching and work was a pro¬ 
test against such a racial discrimination. He was sim¬ 
ply emphasizing the fact of his divine call and apostle- 
ship to the Gentiles, and he refers to the Jerusalem 
Council where the relations of Jews and Gentiles in the 
kingdom of God were finally settled as far as he was 
concerned. The Apostles and elders were also satis¬ 
fied that God put no difference between them. Paul 
meant, he was the apostle to the Gentiles, while Peter’s 





The Fulness of the Gentiles 


153 


ministry was to the Jews of the dispersion. Yet Peter 
was the spokesman at the Jerusalem council who con¬ 
vinced the Apostles and elders that both Jews and Gen¬ 
tiles were received into the kingdom of heaven on the 
same condition of faith. 

It is admitted that there is a noticeable difference be¬ 
tween Peter’s presentation of the gospel to the Jews, 
and Paul’s preaching to the Gentiles. But there is a 
similar difference between Peter’s sermons to the Jews, 
and his sermon to Cornelius and his friends. We also 
note a marked difference in Paul’s discourses at differ¬ 
ent times to different people. This must of necessity 
be so in all true gospel preaching, because different peo¬ 
ples of diverse religious systems and degrees of intel¬ 
lectual attainments have to be approached and taught 
in different ways to get them to accept the same truths. 
For instance, Paul’s sermon on Mars Hill, to the philo¬ 
sophical Athenians, is very different from his sermon to 
the heathen worshippers of Jupiter at Lystra. (Acts 
17: 16-31; Acts 14:15-18.) The difference is not in 
principle but in the phase of truth, best suited to the 
occasion and the methods of presentation, and get the 
right point of contact and lead the people unto repent¬ 
ance toward God and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. 
The great mistake of those who discover irreconcilable 
differences between Peter and Paul, is in taking frag¬ 
ments of truth and treating them as if they were the 
whole, and making artificial distinctions that were never 
intended. 

Peter and Paul are perfectly agreed that under the 
gospel of Jesus, “ God is no respecter of persons ” 
(Acts 10:34) and He “ hath put no difference be¬ 
tween” (Acts 15:9) the Jew and the Gentile, “For 
the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon 




154 The Kingdom and Coming of Christ 


him.” (Rom. 10:11, 1&.) The racial exclusiveness of 
the Jews had to give way before the preaching of the 
gospel of Jesus, and all men everywhere were put on a 
common level before God. In this, “ the righteousness 
of God without the law is manifest, being witnessed by 
the law and the prophets; even the righteousness of God 
which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all 
that believe; for there is no difference: for all have sinned 
and come short of the glory of God.” (Rom. 3:£1— 
S3.) Therefore, God “ now commandeth all men every¬ 
where to repent.” (Acts 17 : 30.) The breaking down 
of the distinctions between the Jews and Gentiles main¬ 
tained under the old Mosaic covenant is very lucidly 
and forcefully expounded by Paul in this language, 
“ Wherefore remember that ye being in times past Gen¬ 
tiles in the flesh, who are called uncircumcision by that 
which is called the circumcision in the flesh made by 
hands; that at that time ye were wuthout Christ, being 
aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers 
from the covenants of promise, having no hope and 
without God in the world: but now in Christ Jesus, ye 
w r ho sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood 
of Christ. For He is our peace, who hath made both 
one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition 
between us; having abolished in His flesh the enmity 
thereby: and came and preached peace to you which 
were afar off, and to them that were nigh.” (Eph. 2: 
11-17.) Again, while urging this obliteration of all 
racial and national distinctions by the gospel of Jesus, 
Paul says, 44 For as many of you as have been baptized 
into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew 
nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is 
neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ 
Jesus, And if ye be Christ’s then are ye Abraham’s 




The Fulness of the Gentiles 


155 


seed, and heirs according to the promise.” (Gal. 
3: 27-29.) In one of Paul’s most fervid exhortations 
to unity and good will, he writes, 66 But now ye also put 
off all these: anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, and filthy 
communication out of your mouth. Lie not one to an¬ 
other, seeing ye have put off the old man with his deeds; 
and have put on the new man which is renewed in knowl¬ 
edge after Him that created him: where there is neither 
Greek nor Jew, circumcision nor uncircumcision, Bar¬ 
barian, Scythian, bond nor free: but Christ is all 
and in all.” (Col. 3 : 8-11.) 

Any theory of religion or interpretation of scripture 
that attempts to break through this unifying principle 
of the gospel of Jesus, and keep alive the old racial and 
national distinctions of pre-gospel times grossly per¬ 
verts the truth of God, and vainly endeavors to turn 
aside the divine purpose as revealed in Jesus. The mil¬ 
lennial theory that makes the world’s salvation con¬ 
tingent upon the maintainence of the insulation of the 
Jews, and the restoration of their political solidarity 
and sovereign glory, is seriously at variance with the 
plain and emphatic teaching of the scriptures. 

The millennialists urge as a necessity for a millen¬ 
nial reign, the estranged position of the Jews. They 
argue that the Jews have been cut off by God to make 
way for the salvation of the Gentiles. There must be 
a change of dispensation, and the Jews restored to 
their own land before they can be saved. This change 
and restoration will take place when “ the times of the 
Gentiles are fulfilled.” This period they interpret as 
“ the times of the rule of the Gentile kings.” But when 
did the fiat of God go forth closing the kingdom of 
heaven to the Jews as a people? Where is the injunc¬ 
tion to be found prohibiting the salvation of the Jews 




156 The Kingdom and Coming of Christ 


by the gospel of Jesus? We can find no record or inti¬ 
mation of it in the scriptures. The Jews were the 
chosen people of God. Jesus was a Jew, and “ salva¬ 
tion is of the Jews.” (John 4:22.) All the apostles 
and first Christians were Jews. The Pentecostal as¬ 
sembly to whom the full gospel was first preached were 
Jews, and among them were representatives of all the 
dispersion. Three thousand of them were converted 
that day and formed the first Christian Church. Fol¬ 
lowing the Pentecostal baptism many thousands more 
were baptized and added to the church. Nearly thirty 
years after Pentecost, Paul returned to Jerusalem after 
his third missionary tour. Trouble was brewing and 
the venom of the people was focused on him because he 
preached to the Gentiles that they could be saved 
without becoming Jews. The Apostle James and those 
associated with him in the church at Jerusalem, ad¬ 
vised Paul to perform his vow in the temple, hoping 
this would allay the bitter feelings, and the suspicions 
of the Jewish Christians in the city. In urging their 
reasons, they said, “ Thou seest, brother, how many 
thousands of Jews there are that believe; and they are 
all zealous of the law.” (Acts 21: 20.) 

Paul, himself a Jew of the purest type, always recog¬ 
nized the priority of the rights and privileges of the 
Jews. In his missionary tours he always, in every 
place, sought out the Jews and began his work among 
them. He made it a point to attend the Jewish services 
in the synagogue on the Sabbath and speak to the peo¬ 
ple there. When there were not enough Jews to sup¬ 
port a synagogue he sought out the few Jewish families, 
as he did at the Roman colony of Philippi when he 
went out to the riverside on the Sabbath to worship 
with the few women assembled for prayer. (Acts 16: 




The Fulness of the Gent He s 


157 


13.) Thus the Jews formed the nucleus of practically 
every Gentile church. The apostolic order was, “ to 
the Jew first, and also to the Greek.” (Rom. 1: 16.) 

The only intimations of the Jews being shut out of 
the kingdom of heaven, were when they were rebuked 
for their unbelief and the rejection of the gospel. This 
was not a wholesale cutting off of the race, but a matter 
of individual unbelief. Take for instance, the case in 
Antioch-Psidia when a section of the Jews, incensed, 
because Paul put the Gentiles on an equality with them, 
opposed the preaching of the Apostles. “ Paul and 
Barnabas waxed bold, and said, ‘ It was necessary that 
the word of God should first have been spoken unto 
you: but seeing ye put it from you, and judge your¬ 
selves unworthy of everlasting life, lo, we turn to the 
Gentiles.” (Acts 13:46.) There is no intimation 
that God had cut off the Jews either as a race or as 
individuals. These people themselves were their own 
judges, and judging themselves unworthy of everlast¬ 
ing life, put the word of God away. That is, they 
would not listen to it. The door of faith was open just 
as wide to these Jews as to the Gentiles, but they chose 
to remain in unbelief. Were, then, the Jews, as such, 
disinherited by God, and so excluded from the benefits 
and blessings of the kingdom of heaven that there is no 
hope for their salvation under the gospel? The mil- 
lennialists contend that they were so disinherited be¬ 
cause they rejected Jesus, the Messiah king, and cruci¬ 
fied Him as a malefactor. But if this were so, how does 
it happen that there was such an ingathering of Jews 
at Pentecost and for many years after? The very fact 
that the first gospel work was by and among the Jews, 
absolutely disproves the millennialist contention. The 
Jews as a race were not disinherited because of the 




158 The Kingdom and Coming of Christ 


crime of Calvary. The possibility of divine forgiveness 
was extended to the immediate participants in that 
crime. Jesus from the cross prayed, 44 Father, forgive 
them for they know not what they do.” (Luke 23: 34.) 
No Jew ever was denied forgiveness and shut out of the 
kingdom because of the crucifixion of Jesus. That 
crucifixion itself opened the way of forgiveness to all 
Jews, as well as to all nations. No Jew is rejected by 
God, except for his personal unbelief. Long ago, God 
disproved the proverb, 44 The fathers have eaten sour 
grapes, and the children’s teeth are set on edge.” 
(Ezek. 18:2.) 44 Yet say ye, Why? doth not the son 

bear the iniquity of the father? When the son hath 
done that which is lawful and right, and hath kept all 
my statutes, and hath done them, he shall surely live. 
The soul that sinneth it shall die. The son shall not 
bear the iniquity of the father, neither shall the father 
bear the iniquity of the son: the righteousness of the 
righteous shall be upon him, and the wickedness of the 
wicked shall be upon him.” (Ezek. 18: 19, 20.) But 
we have a more sure word of prophecy. The Lord 
Jesus Himself said, 44 For God so loved the world that 
He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever be- 
lieveth in Him should not perish but have everlasting 
life. For God sent not His son into the world to con¬ 
demn the world; but that the world through Him might 
be saved. He that believeth on Him is not condemned: 
but He that believeth not is condemned already, because 
He hath not believed in the name of the only begotten 
son of God.” (John 3: 16-18.) 

But the millennialists claim to find support for their 
contention in Paul’s Epistle to the Romans, where he 
speaks of the natural branches (the Jews) being broken 
off, and the wild olive tree (the Gentiles) being grafted 




The Fulness of the Gentiles 


159 


in among them. (Horn. 11.) Did the apostle mean 
that the Jews as a race were cut off from the kingdom 
of God, so that they could not believe to the saving of 
their souls? How could lie advance such a theory when 
he, himself, was a Jew saved by grace, who constantly 
preached the gospel of salvation to the Jews and saw 
multitudes of them saved? 

Paul is simply urging the fact that salvation is by 
faith in Jesus for both Jews and Gentiles, and both are 
saved on the same conditions and principles. This is 
the great theme of the epistle which he states at the 
beginning in these clear and forceful terms, 66 For I am 
not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ: for it is the power 
of God unto salvation, to every one that believeth; to 
the Jew first and also to the Greek.” (Rom. 1:16.) 
His whole argument is a rigidly logical development of 
this theme, and every statement must be interpreted 
consistently therewith. Following out his line of rea¬ 
soning, he had to deal with the reprobate Jews, “ the 
disobedient and gainsajung people.” (Rom. 10:21.) 
This raised the question of God’s continuous fidelity to 
His covenants, and he conclusively settles it thus, “ I 
sa} r , then, Hath God cast away his people? God for¬ 
bid. For I also am an Israelite of the seed of Abraham, 
of the tribe of Benjamin. God hath not cast away 
His people which He foreknew.” (Rom. 11:1, 2.) 
“ This last clause is a condensed syllogism which means, 
when God chose this nation, He chose them with a per¬ 
fect knowledge of their entire history. To suppose 
that now He cast them off entirely as a nation would 
argue fickleness in God. Therefore we cannot suppose 
that God has cast them off.” (Handbook on Romans , 
Rev. N. Burwash.) Paul from this leads up to the 
fall of the Jews and its relation to the salvation of the 




160 The Kingdom and Coming of Christ 


Gentiles, and shows how God was able to use even the 
fall of His people, for His own glory in the enrichment 
of the world. 6i For if out of the circumstances which 
brought about their temporary fall, and their reduc¬ 
tion to a mere remnant, God has brought salvation and 
riches to the Gentiles, what might have been the result, 
and what yet may we expect when the whole body are 
found working into God’s purpose? ” (Ibid.) But it 
was only some branches and not the whole race that was 
broken off. Paul said, “ And if some of the branches 
be broken off, and thou being a wild olive tree, wert 
grafted in among them.” (Rom. 11: 7.) This is true 
to the history of the gospels. It was only the unbeliev¬ 
ing Jews that were broken off. The believing Jews 
formed the living tree among whose branches the Gen¬ 
tiles were ingrafted. 

In another place, Paul emphasizes the same truth 
under the figure of a foundation. Writing to the 
Gentile Christians at Ephesus, he says, “ Now, there¬ 
fore, ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but 
fellow citizens with the saints, and of the household 
of God; and are built upon the foundation of the 
Apostles and Prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the 
chief corner stone.” (Eph. 2:19, 20.) Holding for 
the time Paul’s figure of the olive tree, the natural 
branches were not arbitrarily broken off by God, 
neither do the wild olive branches enjoy the life and 
vigor of the natural tree as an arbitrary gift of God. 
Paul holds very tenaciously to the fact of individual 
responsibility, and strongly emphasizes the probation¬ 
ary character of the relations both of Jews and of Gen¬ 
tiles to the kingdom of heaven on earth. Lest any 
might think that God was dealing racially with the 
Jews, and was cutting off the innocent because they 




The Fulness of the Gentiles 


161 


were members of the Jewish race, he hastens to define 
clearly the individual responsibility, and proves that 
it was only those who “ believed not ” who fell, and that 
the Gentile Christians had no grounds for boasting, be¬ 
cause they stood by faith, and if at any time they 
turned away in unbelief, they also would be cut off 
with the unbelieving Jews. This passage is so definite 
and discriminating that we quote in full. 

Thou wilt sav, then, The branches were broken off that 
I might be grafted in. Well, because of unbelief they were 
broken off, and thou standest by faith. Be not high- 
minded but fear; for if God spared not the natural branches 
take heed lest He spare not thee. Behold, therefore, the 
goodness and severity of God: on them which fell severity; 
but toward thee goodness, if thou continue in His good¬ 
ness, otherwise, thou shalt be cut off. And they also, if 
they abide not still in unbelief, shall be grafted in: for 
God is able to graft them in again. (Rom. 11: 19-2S.) 

It is a serious perversion of the teaching of Paul, to 
make it appear that the Jews as a race were so cut off 
by God that they must remain in their unbelief and iso¬ 
lation, until a new dispensation comes in, when they will 
be gathered together from the four corners of the 
earth, restored to Palestine, and re-established as an 
autonomous sovereign nation, and saved in the king¬ 
dom of God. Or, in other words, making the moral 
salvation of the Jews contingent upon their national 
sovereignty and solidarity. Such a thought did not 
come into view. Throughout the whole discussion, 
Paul deals exclusively with his great theme of salvation 
through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and shows that 
in their relations to God, under the gospel, the Jews 
and Gentiles have equal chances and responsibilities. 
There is no superiority except that of religious faith 





162 The Kingdom and Coming of Christ 


and character; and no failures but such as result from 
personal unbelief and sin. At the very outset of his 
argument, Paul clearly stated these fundamental prin¬ 
ciples. He said: 

And thinkest thou this, O Man, that judgest them which 
do such things, and doest the same, that thou shalt escape 
the judgment of God? Or despisest thou the riches of 
His goodness and forbearance and longsuffering, not know¬ 
ing that the goodness of God lcadeth thee to repentance? 
But after thy hardness and impenitent heart treasurest up 
unto thyself wrath against the day of wrath and revelation 
of the righteous judgment of God; who will render to every 
man according to his deeds: to them who by patient con¬ 
tinuance in well-doing seek for glory and honor and immor¬ 
tality, eternal life; but unto them that are contentious, and 
do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, indigna¬ 
tion, and wrath, tribulation, and anguish upon every soul 
of man that doeth evil, of the Jew first and also of the Gen¬ 
tile; but glory, honor, and peace to every man that worketh 
good, to the Jew first and also to the Gentile: for there is 
no respect of persons with God. (Rom. 2: 3-11.) 

The Jews are put first because as the chosen people 
they enjoyed the first privileges and opportunities, and 
consequently upon them came the first responsibilities 
to glorify God, and carry the full light of the glorious 
gospel of Jesus Christ unto all nations. Racial and 
religious prejudices, bigotry, exclusiveness, and unbe¬ 
lief led them to reject their Messiah, and precipitated 
their fall from their divinely ordained prerogatives. 
But it was only those who believed not who were broken 
off. All who believed were accepted of God, and to those 
believing Jews we owe our knowledge of salvation 
through faith in Jesus. 

These discriminating facts of the gospel of salva¬ 
tion Paul held with the utmost tenacity. He had them 
in full view when he wrote that perplexing passage: 




The Fulness of the Gentiles 


163 


For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant 
of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own con¬ 
ceits; that blindness in past has happened unto Israel, 
until the fulness of the Gentiles is come in, and so all Israel 
shall be saved: As it is written, there shall come out of 
Zion a deliverer and shall turn away ungodliness from 
Jacob: for this is my covenant unto them when I shall take 
away their sins. (Rom. 11:25-27.) 

All the premises of this passage forbid the conclusion 
that Paul is predicting the future political history, and 
national relations and prospects of the Jews and Gen¬ 
tiles. His whole argument is devoted to the religious 
fortunes of these naturally antagonistic peoples in the 
kingdom of grace under the gospel of Jesus Christ. 
The idea of another dispensation superseding the gos¬ 
pel, and putting salvation on an entirely different basis 
from that contained in the covenants of grace, does not 
enter his thought and has absolutely no place in his 
argument. The covenant of saving grace, which he 
emphasizes by his quotation from Isaiah, was to him a 
perpetual covenant which makes no provision for an 
hiatus of thousands of years. He saw the salvation of 
Israel in process of accomplishment, and that it would 
be greatly accelerated by the Gentiles entering into full 
covenantal relations with them, and sharing equally 
“ the sure mercies of David.” The millennial inter¬ 
pretation which makes salvation contingent upon the 
racial and political distinctions of the Jews and Gen¬ 
tiles, not only does a grievous injustice to the broad and 
profound conception of the Apostle to the Gentiles, 
but seriously perverts the whole teaching of the gospel 
of salvation through faith in Jesus. 

Paul’s argument refers us back to the council of 
Jerusalem when the relation of the Gentiles to the cove¬ 
nants of Israel, and to the Deliverer who catne out of 




164 The Kingdom and Coming of Christ 


Zion first came under the official review of the infant 
Church. After giving careful consideration to the rep¬ 
resentations of Peter and Paul who were chiefly respon¬ 
sible for carrying the gospel to the Gentiles, the Council 
accepted Peter’s conclusion, that “ God put no differ¬ 
ence between us and the Gentiles, purifying their hearts 
by faith,” “ But we believe that through the grace of 
our Lord Jesus Christ we will be saved even as they.” 
(Acts 15:9, 11.) The Apostle James, the Chief 
Apostle in Jerusalem and presiding elder of the Coun¬ 
cil, gave the closing address and advised sending an 
ecumenical letter to the Gentile churches assuring them 
of an equal status under the covenants. “ Then pleased 
it the Apostles, and elders with the whole Church, to 
send chosen men of their own to Antioch with Paul and 
Silas.” (Acts 15:22.) 

James, in sustaining the claim of Simeon (or Peter), 
that “ God at the first did visit the Gentiles to take out 
a people for his name,” makes the sweeping statement 
that, “ to this agree the words of the Prophets ” (Acts 
15:14, 15), and gives this characteristic and repre¬ 
sentative quotation from the Prophet Amos: “After 
this will I return, and will build again the tabernacle of 
David, which is fallen down, and I will build again the 
ruins thereof, and I will set it up: that the residue of 
men might seek after the Lord, and all the Gentiles, 
upon whom my name is called, saith the Lord who doeth 
all these things.” (Acts 15: 16, 17; Amos 9: 11, IS.) 

It is very significant that James applies this prophecy 
to the conversion of the Gentiles, and saw in the exten¬ 
sion of the Christian Church the return of the Lord 
and the rebuilding of the tabernacle of David that had 
fallen down. He does not quote as looking into the 




The Fulness of the Gentiles 


165 


distant and unknown future for the fulfilment of the 
prophecy, neither does he allude to a second coming 
of Christ at the consummation of the gospel age to save 
the Jewish race. The Council was dealing with a great 
problem then pressing upon them, because of the mar¬ 
velous ingathering of the Gentiles under the missionary 
Work of Paul and Barnabas, and the hostile attitude of 
many Jewish Christians. The dissension was threaten¬ 
ing to divide the Church on racial lines into two hostile 
camps and was calling for settlement. James, the Jew¬ 
ish leader of the Church at Jerusalem, said in effect, 
“ Why, this conversion of the Gentiles under the Mes¬ 
siah is what the prophets have foretold. The Lord has 
returned in saving power and the tabernacle of David 
which was fallen down is being rebuilt.” He did not 
refer to the material building of the temple which was 
standing in their midst, but to the true sanctuary 'wor¬ 
ship of God that had fallen into decay and was being 
restored. With this application of the prophecy, the 
opponents of Paul and Silas were silenced. If these 
keen disputants had not believed that the prophets who 
foretold the return of the Lord meant the advent of 
the Messiah for the salvation of men under the gospel 
dispensation, they certainly would have raised a strong 
objection to this application to the conversion of the 
Gentiles without demanding their subscription to the 
law of Moses. No such protest was raised, and with 
the unanimous sanction of the council, Paul entered 
more enthusiastically into his missionary work among 
the Gentiles, and developed his theology along the lines 
laid down in that first encyclical letter, insisting that 
in the kingdom of God “ there is no difference between 
the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is 




166 The Kingdom and Coming of Christ 


rich unto all that call upon him. For whosoever shall 
call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.” (Rom. 
10:12, 18.) 

We are compelled to interpret in harmony with this 
teaching of Paul, that perplexing statement of Jesus, 
“ And they shall fall by the edge of the sword, and shall 
be led away captive into all nations: and Jerusalem 
shall be trodden down of the Gentiles until the times 
of the Gentiles be fulfilled.” (Luke 21:24.) This 
prediction was made in reference to the pending de¬ 
struction of Jerusalem by the Romans, and has been 
literally fulfilled. The people were slain by the edge 
of the sword and led away captives, and Jerusalem was 
trodden down of the Gentiles. Some expositors have 
experienced much difficulty in defining, “ Until the times 
of the Gentiles be fulfilled.” The millennialists inter¬ 
pret it to mean when the rule of the Gentile kings has 
ended, and Christ has assumed His millennial reign over 
all the nations. But such a revolutionizing theory 
needs more support than one or more obscure passages 
of scripture. Any exposition of this passage that 
makes it conflict with the great body of New Testa¬ 
ment teaching must be rejected. Even the fact that 
for nearly two thousand } r ears Jerusalem has been trod¬ 
den under foot of the Gentiles is no evidence that the 
gospel is inadequate for the world’s needs, and a new 
dispensation must be inaugurated to supplant Gentile 
rule. In fact, there is no intimation that Gentile rule 
is to be displaced by a revived Jewish hierarchy. 
The burden of the prediction of Jesus was not political 
but religious. The effete Jewish hierarchy was to be 
swept aside by the destruction of Jerusalem, because it 
had not only drifted away from God, but set up an im¬ 
passable barrage to the people’s return to God. The 





The Fulness of the Gentiles 


167 


law which w T as intended to be a school master to bring 
the people to Christ had become a stumbling block and 
a rock of offence, and had to be displaced by that faith 
which was made the way to God both for Jews and for 
Gentiles. This great religious revolution occupied 
the centre of the field in the predictions of Jesus. The 
political changes mentioned are only incidental to in¬ 
crease the prominence of the religious reformation un¬ 
der the gospel. History supports this view. The 
whole Jewish dispensation was ended with the destruc¬ 
tion of the temple, and all means of continuing the sac¬ 
rifices and elaborate ceremonialism, that so hindered the 
Jews from accepting the simplicity of the gospel, were 
abolished. It was then that the great expansion of 
the Gentile church began. From this time the Church 
grew rapidly until it dominated the religious life of 
Europe and to-day is the great evangelizing agency of 
the world. This great religious movement is the ful¬ 
filling of the “ times of the Gentiles,” or as Paul ex¬ 
presses it, “ The fulness of the Gentiles.” (Luke 21: 
24; Rom. 11:25.) 

The question is raised as to whether these expres¬ 
sions of Jesus and Paul refer to the same event, or do 
they indicate different events in the development of the 
history of Christianity. 

It must be recognized that they were used under very 
different circumstances in different connections and for 
different purposes. In neither case was the political 
rule of Gentile kings or nations the burden of thought. 
Both Jesus and Paul were occupied with the spiritual 
salvation of the world, and on the one hand, were deal¬ 
ing with the disastrous results of unbelief and disobedi¬ 
ence, and on the other, the blessings and saving power 
of faith and devotion to truth. 




168 The Kingdom and Coming of Christ 

Jesus was predicting the destruction of Jerusalem 
and the final overthrow of the Jewish nation, as the 
result of their rejection of His Messiahship, and the 
ingathering of the Gentiles into the kingdom of God 
through the reception of the gospel. While the gos¬ 
pel was preached throughout the known world before 
the destruction of Jerusalem, it was not until after the 
destruction of the Holy Temple, and the abolition of the 
sacrificial offerings that the Gentile churches attained 
the position of ecclesiastical supremacy. This evi¬ 
dently was “ the times of the Gentiles ” to which refer¬ 
ence is made. 

Does “ trodden down of the Gentiles ” mean to be 
under the government of Gentile rulers, or to be a scene 
of ruin and desolation? If it means the former, as is 
contended by the millennialists, Jerusalem is still being 
trodden down of the Gentiles. Millennial writers are 
at great pains to prove this from the prophecies of 
Daniel, and by an ingenious manipulation of the pro¬ 
phetic days and weeks to prove that the end of the 
Gentile rule is at hand. But there is such a diverg¬ 
ence of reckoning, and time has forced so many read¬ 
justments that one has to be very cautious about ac¬ 
cepting these interpretations. Just what the outcome 
of the Great War may be, and what national or political 
changes it may effect in Palestine cannot be determined 
at present. The prospects, however, are that even 
though Jerusalem remains in British hands, and the 
hope of the Zionists is realized, there will still be a 
Gentile overlordship. But in the event of Jerusalem 
becoming a purely Jewish city again, will that be the 
realization of what Jesus meant when He spoke of u the 
times of the Gentiles being fulfilled ”? Surely Jesu* 
had in view something very different. 





The Fulness of the Gentiles 


169 


The phrase, “ trodden down,” means very much more 
than being ruled over, even by Mohammedan Turks. 
It certainly implies, not only complete subjugation, but 
utter destruction and desolation. This is just what 
happened under the Romans. Even the foundations of 
the temple were ploughed over. It remained in a state 
of utter desolation for about two centuries. Not only 
the site but the name itself w^as abandoned. During 
this period, the Gentile churches extended their influ¬ 
ence and power until the Roman Emperor Constantine 
became the patron of Christianity. The people began 
to return to Jerusalem, and Emperor Constantine was 
moved to build the Martyr ion over the site of the cruci¬ 
fixion and the ancient name was revived. Christianity 
became so extensive among the Gentiles that the world 
was divided into five episcopal sees of which Jerusalem 
was one. (Kurtz, § 46.) The bishops of these sees 
were recognized as heads of the church universal and 
were of equal rank with jurisdiction over the patri¬ 
archates assigned them. But such Christian sentiment 
gathered around Jerusalem that “ even in Nicea A. D. 
325 the bishopric of Jerusalem was declared worthy of 
special honour.” Would not this religious development 
of the Gentile Church be more in harmony with the 
meaning of the expression of Jesus, “ Until the times 
of the Gentiles be fulfilled ”? 

The millennialist objection to this is, that Jerusalem 
is not yet fully restored to the Jews, neither have the 
Jews been returned to their land. But there is nothing 
in the prediction of Jesus to warrant the assumption 
that Jerusalem would ever be restored to the Jews as a 
centre of a Jewish nation, nor yet of a millennial king¬ 
dom, when the “ times of the Gentiles were fulfilled.” 
The prediction of the destruction of Jerusalem was ab- 




170 The Kingdom and Coming of Christ 


solute. Jesus announces this catastrophe as the end 
of the Jewish dispensations, or the age under the Mosaic 
law, when the Jewish hierarchy w r ould be replaced by 
the Christian Church, as a result of preaching the gos¬ 
pel of the kingdom 66 in all the world as a witness to all 
nations.” (Matt. 24:14.) Was not this ingathering 
of the nations “ the times of the Gentiles ”? 

A careful examination of Paul’s expression “ until 
the times of the Gentiles be come in ” shows that “ the 
apostle to the Gentiles ” holds in view this same event 
that occupied the mind of Jesus. There is, however, 
this difference: when Jesus spoke, the conversion of the 
Gentiles was wholly future; when Paul wrote his Epistle 
to the Roman Christians, there were Gentile churches 
at least throughout Asia Minor and in southern Eu¬ 
rope. Jesus was predicting to his questioning disciples 
the pending calamity that was to befall their nation 
on account of the unbelief of its religious and civil 
rulers. Paul was writing to Christian Gentiles and en¬ 
deavoring to harmonize the cutting off of the Jews, 
“ the natural branches,” and the grafting in of the 
Gentiles, “ the wild olive tree,” by the election of grace. 
The racial and religious prejudices of the Jews formed 
a barrier between them and the Gentiles. There w T as 
growing up among the Gentile converts a similar wall 
of prejudice, against the Jews. The consequent mis¬ 
understandings and strong party feelings were threat¬ 
ening the purity, peace and the progress of the Chris¬ 
tian Church. Paul set himself to the difficult task of 
allaying, and if possible removing the misunderstand¬ 
ings by explaining the mutual relations and obligations 
both of Jews and of Gentiles under the saving grace of 
God. “ For if the casting away of them (Jews) be 
the reconciling of the world, what shall the receiving 




The Fulness of the Gentiles 


171 


of them be but life from the dead? ” (Rom. 11: 15.) 
In this work he had to deal with apparently strange 
paradoxes, such as election and free will, as applied to 
Israel and the world, and the breaking off of the natu¬ 
ral branches, while they remained under the mercy of 
God, and were being urged to be reconciled with God, 
by accepting Jesus as the true Messiah. 

As the Apostle to the Gentiles, Paul felt responsible 
for the spirit and conduct of the Gentile Christians, and 
was deeply concerned over the manifestations of racial 
prejudices that were menacing the whole work of God. 
These people were “ being wise in their own conceits ” 
and were failing to rely upon the illumination of the 
Holy Spirit for a true knowledge, and just apprecia¬ 
tion of this mystery of the divine operation of salva¬ 
tion. This is the mystery that Paul would make known 
to them, that God had not cast off the Jews as a race, 
but that blindness in part had happened unto them, 
and they were broken off because of unbelief, but 44 if 
they abide not still in unbelief they shall be grafted in: 
for God is able to graft them in.” He says, 64 For I 
would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this 
mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; 
that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the 
fulness of the Gentiles be come in.” (Rom. 11:25.) 
This time was reached, when after the destruction of 
Jerusalem and the Holy Temple, the Gentile Christian 
churches became the dominant religious power in the 
world. We therefore conclude that both Jesus and 
Paul had in view the same event. The variations in 
mode of expression are due to the differing circum¬ 
stances, connections, and purposes that led to the state¬ 
ment. 

The one strong objection urged against this inter- 




172 The Kingdom and Coming of Christ 


pretation is that Paul also says in the next statement, 
“ And so all Israel shall be saved ”; and all Israel was 
not saved after the Gentile churches obtained the su¬ 
premacy. Even in this present time the Jews retain 
their racial insulation, and rejection of Jesus as the 
Messiah, and consequently are not saved. 

This passage admittedly creates much difficulty for 
the interpreter, but there are some things that can be 
stated with confidence. First, there is not a solitary 
statement in all Paul’s argument to warrant the mil- 
lennialist interpretation that God cast off the whole 
Jewish race so that Israel cannot be saved until Jesus 
comes again in bodily presence to set up a millennial 
kingdom. In fact, Paul’s argument refutes any such 
idea. Second, Paul could not have meant that all 
Israelites then living would be saved, because they 
passed off in unbelief. This even the millennialists ad¬ 
mit. Neither can it mean that the work of salvation 
will be retroactive, under a millennial reign, for there 
is no hint of such a thing. It would therefore seem 
that he makes the statement supported by quotations 
from the Prophets to forestall in the Gentile mind the 
conclusion that salvation was actually denied the Jews, 
and hastened to assure them that the way of salvation 
is still open to the Jews if they will accept it by faith. 
The particle so does not express time but manner, and 
the word all is distributive and does not mean the people 
of Israel en masse , but all of Israel who will believe and 
accept the gospel. The prophetic references present 
some difficulty because they are not verbatim quota¬ 
tions. There is a decided difference between even the 
Hebrew and the Septuagint rendering of the original 
passages in Isaiah. The latter reads, “ And to those 
who turn away from iniquity in Jacob.” (Burwash on 




The Fulness of the Gentries 


173 


Romans.) This is in harmony with the ancient cove¬ 
nants and prophets and consistent with Paul’s whole 
line of argument that salvation is a personal matter, 
and received only by individual faith. This statement, 
then, is made to keep the emphasis upon the fact that 

The door of God’s mercy is open 
To all who are weary of sin, 

And Jesus is patiently waiting, 

Still waiting to welcome them in. 

The Jews were in blindness now because of their un¬ 
belief, but that blindness was not imposed by God, 
neither was there any divine plan or purpose holding 
them in unbelief so that they could not be saved. With 
this fact clearly before him, Paul proceeds to enlarge 
upon the equitable mercy of God, saying, 

For as ye in times past have not believed God, yet have 
now obtained mercy through their unbelief; even so have 
these also now not believed that through your mercy they 
also may obtain mercy. For God hath concluded them all 
in unbelief that He might have mercy upon all. (Rom. 11: 
30-52.) 

Any interpretation of this intricate and profound 
reasoning that sets the Jews and Gentiles over against 
each other in such a way as to make it appear that they 
cannot both be saved under the same dispensation of 
gospel grace does unwarranted violence to the teaching 
of Paul; and casts a serious reflection upon the justice 
and mercy of God. Paul does not attempt to give a 
detailed explanation of the apparent paradoxes of his 
teaching upon the election and grace of God. He does 
not even claim to understand all he is saying, but he is 
sure that in the mind and purpose of God these para¬ 
doxes find a perfect harmony. He is therefore satisfied 




174 The Kingdom and Coming of Christ 

to outline the general principles of the operations of 
God’s mercy and grace, as being sufficiently compre¬ 
hensive to include in the divine scheme of salvation all 
who believe whether Jew or Gentile, and sufficiently dis¬ 
criminating as to debar all who disbelieve irrespective 
of their national descent or religious antecedents, 44 For 
the gifts and calling of God are without repentance.” 
(Rom. 11:29, 33.) 

As he meditates upon these exalted glories of the 
gospel, the immeasurable reaches, and unfathomable 
mysteries of God’s grace and mercy, he exclaims, 44 O 
the depths of the riches both of the wisdom and knowl¬ 
edge of God! how unsearchable are thy judgments and 
thy ways past finding out.” (Rom. 11: 33.) 

Thus under the gospel of Jesus there are no racial 
distinctions or barriers. The divine call to repentance 
is to 44 all men everywhere.” (Acts 17: 30.) There is 
no plan or decree of God that prevents any person from 
believing and obeying the gospel unto salvation. The 
work of grace began in Jerusalem with the newly bap¬ 
tized Jewish disciples on the great day of Pentecost, 
and the work of grace spread with divine power, until 
the racial barriers were burst asunder and the Gentiles 
were received into the Church on equal terms with the 
Jews, without the Jewish rite of circumcision. This 
was in fulfilment of the terms of the ancient covenants, 
and prophecies. The coming of Jesus 44 to save His 
people from their sins ” (Matt. 1:21) was in “ the ful¬ 
ness of time.” (Gal. 4:4.) This gospel age, as de¬ 
scribed by Paul, is called, 44 the dispensation of the ful¬ 
ness of times” (Eph. 1:10), that is, 44 the plan by 
which God has provided salvation for a lost world.” 

As the work of the gospel in course of time passed 
from the Jewish to the Gentile Church, the responsi- 




The Fulness of the Gentiles 


175 


bility for evangelizing the world now rests upon Gen¬ 
tile Christians. We today are looking forward to a 
more energetic propaganda of the gospel of salvation 
through faith in Christ, in world-wide evangelism. As 
“ the fulness of the Gentiles ” comes in, the work of 
evangelizing the Jews will be accelerated, and the con¬ 
verted Jews will join with their Gentile brethren in the 
glory of their common Lord. Why have not the Jews 
been converted? The answer to that question is, Prej- 
udice. The prejudices of these Jews have blinded them 
to the true meaning of their scriptures. Paul noted this 
sad fact. When preaching in Antioch in Psidia he said, 
“ For they that dwell at Jerusalem, and their rulers, 
because they knew Him not, nor yet the voices of their 
prophets which are read every Sabbath day, they have 
fulfilled them in condemning Him.” (Acts 13:27.) 
And again in his epistle to the Corinthians, “ But we 
speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden 
wisdom, which God ordained before the world unto our 
glory: which none of the princes of this world knew: 
for had they known it, they would not have crucified the 
Lord of glory.” (1 Cor. 2: 7, 8.) 

This was “ the blindness in part ” that happened unto 
Israel. This blindness caused by their prejudices has 
kept the Jews out of their inheritance of salvation. 
Then their inveterate racial exclusiveness has prevented 
them from mixing with the nations among whom they 
have been dispersed. 

On the other hand, in spite of the teaching of Paul, 
strong prejudices developed against the Jews among 
the Gentile Christians. These prejudices began to 
show themselves very early in the apostles’ missionary 
work and Paul felt impelled to warn his converts, 
against this mother of many vices. After the destruc- 




176 The Kingdom and Coming of Christ 


tion of the temple, those prejudices grew very rapidly, 
and serious disabilities were imposed upon the Jews in 
every land where Christians held sway, and Jew bait¬ 
ing became an amusing pastime. They were denied all 
rights of citizenship and treated with the utmost con¬ 
tempt. The excuse for such treatment was, that they, 
or their elders at Jerusalem, had crucified the Lord 
Jesus. Thus the disciples missed the spirit of their 
Lord and forgot His prayer on the cross, “ Father, 
forgive them for they know not what they do.” 

Those familiar with history know the disabilities im¬ 
posed upon the Jews in the British Isles, and every 
country in Europe, and the long hard fight these breth¬ 
ren of our Lord have had to obtain any civil rights* 
This is all the explanation that is required for the insu¬ 
lation and stolid unbelief of the seed of Israel. How 
could they be converted to Christianity while suffering 
such cruel treatment from so-called Christian nations? 
It is not an exhibition of ordinary intelligence to shut 
one’s eyes to these hard and cruel facts of history and 
then try to account for the state of the Jews, by at¬ 
tributing it to a decree of the Merciful Father of all 
grace. Surely the just and impartial God never in¬ 
tended that His Gentile children should make their Jew- 
ish brethren as the filth and offscouring of the earth. 

Does any one think this picture is drawn in too 
strong colors? Then let him pause and analyze the 
popular feeling of the present time, and the attitude 
of Christians toward the Jews. Is there any spirit of 
kindly sympathy toward them even in our Christian 
churches and communities? True, there are In some 
centres missions for the Jewish population, but these 
do not represent the Christian sentiment of the whole 
community. Speaking generally, is there displayed in 




The Fulness of the Gentiles 


177 


the churches of Christ that full, deep, loving kindness 
of the Saviour that would lead the Jews to think more 
favorably of the Christians’ claim of the Messiahship 
of Jesus? The non-conversion of the Jews is due to the 
unchristian attitude of the churches, and national gov¬ 
ernments, rather than to the design or decree of God. 
In a recent interview given The Christian Guardian of 
Toronto, Rabbi Nathan Gordon of Montreal, among 
other striking statements, had this to say about the 
relation of Jews and Christians: 

Nor do I think there is any chance of Christian and Jew 
coming together. We have been driven from country to 
country, hounded and persecuted and despised, deprived 
of the rights of citizens, outraged and tortured, in the name 
of religion. Do you wonder if we have had to fight with 
our backs to the wall? I will say this, that I think, if true 
Christian treatment had been meted out to us, there would 
not have been a Jew left today; they would have been of 
one religion with the Christians.” (The Christian Guard¬ 
ian, May 17, 1916.) 




CHAPTER VIII 


THE TWO RESURRECTIONS 


HE resurrection occupies a very large place in 



the gospel of Jesus. The apostles treat it as the 


central truth in the scheme of salvation. Its reality 
and efficacy is founded upon the well attested fact of 
the resurrection of Christ. Paul met the attempts to 
discredit the reality of the resurrection by the sweep¬ 
ing and decisive declaration, 44 If there be no resurrec¬ 
tion of the dead, then is Christ not risen: and if Christ 
is not risen then is our preaching vain, and your faith 
is also vain.” (1 Cor. 15:13, 14.) And again, 44 If 
Christ be not raised, }mur faith is vain; ye are yet in 
your sins.” (Verse 17.) Thus the resurrection of 
Jesus is absolutely essential to the forgiveness of sin, 
and the hope of glory. It is also the final and irrefu¬ 
table proof that all the 44 dead in Christ ” shall be 
44 raised up at the last day.” (John 6: 39, 40.) 44 For 
as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made 
alive. But every man in his own order: Christ the first 
fruits; afterward they that are Christ’s at His coming.” 

We are in perfect harmony with the premillennialists 
on these fundamental facts. But they teach that there 
will be a thousand year period between the resurrection 
of 44 the dead in Christ ” and the resurrection of the 
wicked, those who die out of Christ. At the beginning 
of the millennial period, Christ shall come to set up 
His earthly kingdom and the 44 dead in Christ ” that 
are His at His coming will be raised 44 out of the dead,” 
and will reign with Him a thousand years, while He is 


178 


The Two Resurrections 


179 


saving the world. At the closing of this millennial 
period, when the thousand years are ended, the wicked, 
or “ the rest of the dead,” will be raised at the final 
resurrection. These are the distinctions they make 
between the first and second resurrections. 

When one enters upon a philosophical study of this 
millennial interpretation, many very intricate and per¬ 
plexing problems press in vain for solution. No mil- 
lennialist has yet seriously attempted to straighten out 
the tangle. As we are primarily interested in the teach¬ 
ing of scripture on this profound theme of the resur¬ 
rection we will confine our investigation to the inspired 
Word, rather than attempt to follow philosophical 
speculations. 

The first question for our examination is what scrip¬ 
tural proof have we that a thousand years must elapse 
between the resurrection of the righteous and the resur¬ 
rection of the wicked? This is the crux of the whole 
millennial theory. 

The millennial method is to take the enigmatical pas¬ 
sage of the twentieth chapter of Revelation, work out 
their theory from that, and then read their interpreta¬ 
tion into the gospels and the epistles, thus apparently 
making out a case. But if their theory is such an es¬ 
sential part of God’s plan of salvation as they claim, 
there ought to be some plain and definite proof of it in 
the New Testament apart from the Book of Revela¬ 
tion. Instead of following their method and reasoning 
back from the closing chapters of Revelation, we will 
reverse the order and endeavor to interpret the Reve¬ 
lation in the light of the gospels. As a matter of 
fact, there are only a few passages outside the twentieth 
of Revelation to which the millennialists appeal, and 
the most important of these are Paul’s first Epistle to 




180 The Kingdom and Coming of Christ 


the Thessalonians, and the first Epistle to the Corinth¬ 
ians. These we will examine first. 

To the Thessalonian Church, Paul wrote: 

But I would not have you ignorant, brethren, concerning 
them that are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others 
which have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and 
rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will 
God bring with him. For this we say unto you by the 
word of the Lord that we which are alive and remain unto 
the coming of the Lord shall not prevent (or go before) 
them which are asleep. For the Lord, himself, shall de¬ 
scend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the 
archangel and with the trump of God: and the dead in 
Christ shall rise first. Then we which are alive and remain 
shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to 
meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the 
Lord. Wherefore comfort one another with these words. 
(1 Thess. 4: 13-18.) 

The most critical analysis of this passage fails to 
disclose the slightest allusion to a thousand years, or 
any other period of time elapsing between the resurrec¬ 
tion of the dead in Christ and the resurrection of the 
wicked dead. As a matter of fact, there is no refer¬ 
ence whatever in the whole passage to the resurrection 
of the wicked. Paul is dealing exclusively with the 
resurrection of the saints, and the translation of the 
Christians who are alive at the coming of Christ. When 
he says, “ the dead in Christ shall rise first,” he does 
not in any way bring the resurrection wicked into view. 
The order is not first , the resurrection of the saints, 
and second, the resurrection of the wicked, as the mil- 
lennialists claim. The language of Paul is so clear and 
emphatic there is no mistaking his meaning. He says, 
“ The dead in Christ shall rise first , then we which are 
alive and remain shall be caught up together with them 




The Two Resurrections 


181 


in the clouds.” The question under discussion was 
whether the living should first ascend to meet their 
Lord in the air, or whether the dead in Christ should 
first be raised up and go before the living. Paul deals 
only with this question. His decision was that the dead 
in Christ should rise first, then the living saints would 
be translated. The living shall not go before the dead 
in Christ, 

The stated purpose of Paul was to relieve the grief 
of those who sorrowed over their faithful dead “ as 
others which have no hope.” 

He delivers to them three important truths: 1. He as- 
serts, as he had done before, that they who die in the Lord 
should have, in virtue of Christ’s resurrection, a resurrec¬ 
tion unto eternal life and blessedness. 2. He makes a new 
discovery, that the last generation should not die at all, but 
be in a moment changed to immortals. 3. He adds another 
new discovery, that, though the living should not die, but 
be transformed, yet the dead should be first raised and be 
made glorious and immortal; and so in some measure, have 
the preference and advantage of such as then shall be found 
alive. (A. Clark’s Commentary .) 

There is not in this whole passage the slightest 
shadow of a shred of evidence in support of the millen¬ 
nial theory of a thousand year period between a first 
and second resurrection. 

Another passage requisitioned by the millennialists as 
proof of a first and second resurrection, separated by 
a thousand years, is this statement of Paul: w For as 
in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made 
alive. But every man in his own order: Christ the 
firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ’s at His 
coming. Then cometh the end, when He shall have 
delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father; 




182 The Kingdom and Coming of Christ 


when He shall have put down all rule, and all authority 
and power.” (1 Cor. 15 :22-24.) 

How any person can have the hardihood to read into 
this passage a millennial reign, and then attempt to 
make intelligent people believe that it was Paul’s inten¬ 
tion, is one of the marvels. The apostle makes no 
reference either in this passage or its connections to 
the state or resurrection of the wicked. Consequently, 
even if the millennial reign were a revealed fact, it does 
not come within the scope of this discussion. This 
whole transcendent chapter is devoted to the entranc¬ 
ing theme of the resurrection of the dead in Christ to 
immortal glory. This triumphant victory over death 
and the grave has been assured to all the saints by the 
resurrection of Christ who became “ the firstfruits of 
them that slept.” The order mentioned in this passage 
is not first “ they that are Christ’s ” and “ afterward 
they that are not Christ’s.” There is no intimation of 
any millennial period. Any attempt to read such a 
period into the text does violence to the argument of 
the Apostle. The order is “ Christ the firstfruits, aft¬ 
erward they that are Christ’s at His coming.” No 
others are mentioned. Therefore, there is no evidence 
of the millennial distinction of a first and second resur¬ 
rection. Apart from these two passages the millen- 
nialists do not claim any statements either in the Acts 
or in the Epistles that give any evidence in support of 
their theory of a first and second resurrection. 

The one passage out of which the millennial theory 
of the two resurrections is evolved is Rev. 20:4-14. 
It already has been shown that the Book of Revelation 
is highly figurative and pictorial, and presents serious 
difficulties to a literal interpretation. As the Gospels 
and Epistles give no intimation of a thousand year 




The Two Resurrections 


183 


period between the resurrection of the saints and the 
resurrection of the sinners, we are justified in asking 
for more proof than is afforded by this enigmatical 
passage. It is not sound exegesis to extract a theory 
from a figurative and obscure passage of scripture, and 
then make all the clear and open scriptures bend to that 
theory. It is much more consistent and safe to get 
the plain meaning of the gospels and then seek an in¬ 
terpretation of the obscure passages of Revelation in 
harmony therewith. As the apostle John, the author 
of the Book of Revelation, is also the author of the Gos¬ 
pel and Epistles bearing his name, it is only reasonable 
to expect to find something there that will give us a clew 
to his meaning here. We look to the Gospel where he is 
reporting the words of Jesus and find a description of 
tw r o distinct resurrections. The Jews sought to slay 
Jesus because He healed the impotent man at the Beth- 
esda pool on the Sabbath day. Jesus met this menace 
by identifying Himself with God the Father and urging 
the necessity of a changed life and character which Hej 
described as a resurrection,— passing from death unto 
life. They marvelled at this, then He predicted the 
resurrection of the bodies, both of the righteous and 
the wicked, from the grave. This whole passage is 
worthy of a close examination. He said: 

Verily, verily, I say unto you, he that heareth my word, 
and believeth on Him that sent me hath everlasting life, 
and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from 
death unto life. 

Verily, verily, I say unto you, the hour is coming, and 
now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of 
God: and they that hear shall live. For as the Father hath 
life in Himself, so hath He given to the Son to have life in 
Himself; and hath given Him authority to execute judg¬ 
ment also, because He is the Son of Man. Marvel not at 





184* The Kingdom and Coming of Christ 


this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the 
graves shall hear His voice, and shall come forth; they 
that have done good unto the resurrection of life, and they 
that have done evil unto the resurrection of damnation. 
(John 5:24-29.) 

Here we have two distinct and quite different resur¬ 
rections corresponding with the two distinct parts of 
man’s nature, the spiritual and the physical. The first 
is the resurrection of the soul, or spiritual, from the 
death of sin unto the life of righteousness. This is the 
great spiritual change wrought in the penitent believer 
by the Holy Spirit, and commonly called conversion. 
The second is physical, the resurrection of the bodies, 
from the grave, both of them “ that have done good,” 
and of them “ that have done evil.” In verses 24—27, 
the former or spiritual resurrection is so lucidly de¬ 
scribed that there is no mistaking the meaning of Jesus. 
This exposition of the changed life so astonished the 
people that Jesus passed naturally and with sustained 
lucidity to the resurrection from the grave (Verses 28, 
29) of all men, good and bad, and sets it forth with 
an emphasis that is most impressive. 

This passage is so full of gospel meaning that it is 
worth while giving it extended study: 

“ Verily, verily, I say unto you, he that heareth my 
word and believeth on Him that sent me hath everlast¬ 
ing life.” Can any one doubt the application of this 
appeal? “ He that heareth my word and believeth on 
Him that sent me,” certainly means the believer in 
Jesus then and now, under the provisions of the gospel 
salvation. The reward of that faith is “everlasting 
life,” not a life that is to be received in some indefinite 
and unknown time in the future ages, but a gift imme¬ 
diately possessed and enjoyed. This is in harmony 




The Two Resurrections 


185 


with all the gospel teaching of salvation. “ He that 
believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that 
believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath 
of God abideth on him.” (John 3:36.) This deliver¬ 
ance from wrath and condemnation Jesus calls a “ pass¬ 
ing from death unto life ” which is undoubtedly a resur¬ 
rection. In the next verse, Jesus repeats the statement 
in a little different form to make it more explicit and 
give it added emphasis. “ Verily, verily, I say unto 
you, the hour is coming, and now is, when the dead 
shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and they that 
hear shall live.” The form and terms of this state¬ 
ment preclude all possibility of applying it to the resur¬ 
rection of the bodies of the saints from the grave. 
“ And now is,” expresses definite present time. Even 
then the dead were hearing the voice of Jesus and were 
coming forth into life. The only reasonable explana¬ 
tion is “ the dead ” here means the spiritually dead,— 
those who were in unbelief and sin. As these heard the 
voice of Jesus and turned unto God by faith, they 
passed from death unto life. This is the glorious work 
of regeneration wrought by the Holy Spirit. (John 
3:3-8.) 

In all the scriptures, the moral condition of the sin¬ 
ner is described as a state of death. Even before the 
gospel times, those who practiced idolatry and sin were 
accounted as dead. Therefore, Jesus was using a fig¬ 
ure which was very familiar to the people. Matthew 
quotes from Isaiah, “ The people which sat in darkness 
saw great light: and to them which sat in the valley and 
shadow of death light has sprung up.” (Matt. 4:16, 
quoted from Isa. 42:7.) Zacharias, the father of 
John the Baptist, in his song of praise also quoted 
from Isaiah, saying, “ To give light to them that sit 




186 The Kingdom and Coming of Christ 


in darkness and the shadow of death.” (Luke 1:79; 
Isa. 9:2.) It would be superfluous to attempt to 
quote the many scripture texts which describe the sin¬ 
ful condition as a state of death. A few typical ones 
from the apostles will suffice to give the clew to the 
thoughtful student. Paul said, 46 And you hath He 
quickened who were dead in trespasses and sins.” 
(Eph. 2:1.) And again, 44 Awake thou that sleepest, 
and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee 
light.” (Eph. 5:14.) John, the author of both the 
Gospel and the Revelation, says in his Epistle, 44 We 
know that we have passed from death unto life because 
we love the brethren.” (1 John 3: 14.) Here we have 
convincing proof given, that to John sin and death were 
interchangeable terms, and that conversion is a resur¬ 
rection. Paul also caught this supreme significance of 
regeneration, and insistently urged that this great spir¬ 
itual change was a resurrection from the dead. He 
said, 44 But God, who is rich in mercy, for His great 
love wherewith He loved us, even when we were dead in 
sins , hath quickened us together in Christ, (by grace 
are ye saved;) and hath raised us up together in heav¬ 
enly places in Christ Jesus.” (Eph. 2:4-6.) And 
again, 44 Buried with Him in baptism wherein also ye 
are risen with Him, through the faith of the operation 
of God, who hath raised Him from the dead. And you 
being dead in 3 ^our sins and the uncircumcision of your 
flesh, hath He quickened together with Him having for¬ 
given your trespasses.” (Col. 2:12, 13.) 44 If ye 

then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are 
above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God.” 
(Col. 3:1.) 

44 This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy is 
he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the 




The Two Resurrections 187 

second death hath no power, but they shall be priests 
of God and of Christ, and shall reign with Christ a 
thousand years.” (Rev. 20:5, 6.) That this first 
resurrection is a spiritual transformation of the saints 
and martyrs is quite clear from the preceding verse. 
“ And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them: And I 
saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the wit¬ 
ness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had 
not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither 
had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their 
hands, and they lived and reigned with Christ a thou¬ 
sand years.” The “ thrones and they that sat upon 
them,” is a picture of “ Christianity established in the 
earth, the kings and governors being all Christians.” 
(A. Clark’s Commentary .) The souls of the mar¬ 
tyred saints had obtained a complete victory over the 
beast and his images, over all evil, their minds were 
pure, and their conduct was clean, the mark of the beast 
was not found either in their foreheads or their hands, 
and they lived and reigned with Christ. They were 
also priests of God. This is the distinctive honor of 
all the regenerate disciples of Jesus. “ But ye are a 
chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, 
a peculiar people.” (1 Pet. 2:9.) “Unto him that 
loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood 
and H&th made us kings and priests unto God and His 
Father.” (Rev. 1: 5, 6.) “ This is the first resurrec¬ 

tion.” The thousand years, the sacred number ten 
raised to the third power, is symbolic of the complete¬ 
ness of the victory over Satan, in the reign with 
God. 1 

“ But the rest of the dead lived not again until the 
thousand years were finished.” (Rev. 20:5.) This is 

i See chapter V on the Reign of Jesus. 




188 The Kingdom and Coming of Christ 


a key passage of the millennial theory. The thousand 
years are interpreted as being a strictly literal period 
of time. The dead in Christ are raised at the begin¬ 
ning of this millennium, and the wicked or rest of the 
dead, are raised at its close. There is such a diversity 
of opinion among millennialists regarding the order of 
the resurrection of the saints that it is impossible to 
harmonize them. They appear to have all their trou¬ 
bles with the saints or good people. The wicked give 
them no trouble. There is only one lot of them. The mil¬ 
lennialists have a special rapture in which the Church and 
the Old Testament saints are raised when Christ comes 
in the air, and the tribulation period in which the tribu¬ 
lation or martyred saints are raised. The order of the 
first resurrection is 66 Christ the firstfruits,” then they 
that are Christ’s at His coming. These latter are di¬ 
vided into rapture saints and tribulation saints, which 
are raised at different times. (Christ is Coming , by W. 
E. B., p. 101.) Therefore there are several resurrec¬ 
tions of saints but apparently only one resurrection of 
the wicked. 

Jesus said, “ Marvel not at this; for the hour is com¬ 
ing in the which all that are in their graves shall hear 
His voice, and shall come forth; they that have done 
good unto the resurrection of life; and they thaj^have 
done evil unto the resurrection of damnation.” Cffolin 
5:28, 29.) 

This passage is so plain that it would seem almost 
absurd to indulge in any exposition to show that both 
the good and evil come forth from their graves at the 
hour the voice of the Son of God calls them. But 
the peculiar interpretation of the millennialists renders 
it necessary to analyze the words of the Master. They 
read a thousand years between the resurrection of 





The Two Resurrections 


189 


44 they that have done good ” and 44 they that have done 
evil,” making two distinct resurrections; the one at 
the beginning of the millennial reign, and the other 
at its close. But there is not the slightest justification 
for thus arbitrarily separating by any period of time 
the resurrection of these two classes, which according 
to the statement of Jesus come forth at the same hour. 
The connections are so close that they forbid the im¬ 
portation of any extraneous elements. Study the pass¬ 
age. 44 The hour is coming in the which all that are 
in their graves.” The all of this statement is neither 
particular nor distributive but universal, and means 
every one. It makes no distinction between the good 
and the evil. 

As if to forestall the possibility of a mistake, and 
concluding that the all includes only the righteous dead, 
our Lord immediately proceeds to define those who are 
in their graves, as 44 they who have done good ” and 
44 they who have done evil.” All shall be raised. But 
when shall it be? At two distinct and separate pe¬ 
riods? Jesus does not hint such a thing. His lan¬ 
guage here is definite. 44 The hour (or time) is com¬ 
ing.” The singular form fixes the resurrection of both 
classes at one time. If there are to be two distinct 
resurrections, with a thousand years intervening, the 
language of Jesus is very misleading. He should'have 
used the plural form and said, 44 The hours, or times 
are coming.” The singular number is decisive and 
forbids any person indulging in such liberties with the 
Word of God, as to make it mean 44 hours or times ” 
with a thousand years thrust between them. The con¬ 
trast between this statement and the preceding makes 
the language even more definite and decisive. When 
dealing with the spiritual resurrection from sin to right- 




190 The Kingdom and Coming of Christ 


eousness, Jesus said, 44 Verily, verily, I say unto you, 
the hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall 
hear the voice of the Son of God; and they that hear 
shall live.” The phrase, 44 now is,” fixes the time to 
the present. Even when He was speaking they that 
believed would pass from 44 death unto life.” This re¬ 
sult will follow the exercise of faith in response to the 
voice of the Son of God to the end of time. 44 Marvel 
not at this: for the hour is coming in the which all that 
are in the graves shall hear His voice, and shall come 
forth.” The omission of the phrase, 44 now is,” is very 
significant. The 44 hour that is coming ” is undoubt¬ 
edly the time which in the next chapter Jesus calls the 
44 last day.” (John 6: 39, 40 and 44.) 

This exposition harmonizes wdth the whole teaching 
of the gospel. Nowhere does Jesus intimate that there 
will be an extended period of time between the resur¬ 
rection of the good and the resurrection of the wicked. 
Everywhere He speaks of the two classes as coming 
forth together. This is very marked in the parables 
of the kingdom. In His explanation of the parable of 
the tares, Jesus said, 44 The harvest is the world. The 
Son of Man shall send forth His angels and they shall 
gather out of His kingdom all things that offend and 
them which do iniquity, and shall cast them into the 
furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of 
teeth. Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun 
in the kingdom of their Father.” (Matt. 13:40-43.) 
The gathering out is at 44 the end of the world.” Then 
44 them which do iniquity ” are condemned and 44 cast 
into the furnace of fire.” There is no room here for a 
thousand years, at the end of which the wicked shall 
be dealt with. 

The parable of the fishing net is equally explicit. 




The Two Resurrections 


191 


“ So shall it be at the end of the world: the angels shall 
come forth and sever the wicked from the just.” 
(Matt. 13:49.) It is not at the end of the millennial 
age, but the end of the gospel age, 44 the end of the 
world,” that the 44 wicked are cast into the furnace of 
fire.” Therefore, the resurrection both of the just and 
of the wicked will be at 44 the end of the world.” 

The Parables of Judgment teach the same truth. 
For instance, while the virgins waited for the bride¬ 
groom 44 they all slumbered and slept. At midnight 
there was a cry made, 4 Behold the bridegroom cometh, 
go ye out to meet him.’ Then all those virgins arose.” 
(Matt. 25:5, 6.) The wise and the foolish arose to¬ 
gether, but the foolish lacking the necessary prepara¬ 
tion were shut out of the banquet chamber. How is it 
possible to force a thousand years between the rising 
of the wise, and the rising of the foolish virgins? They 
all arose when they heard the midnight cry. The 
foolish with the wise, because they asked the wise to 
supply them with oil, 44 for our lamps have gone out.” 

So also in the parable of the talents, when after a 
long while the lord came to reckon with his servants, 
they all came forward, the faithful who had used their 
talents to profit, and the unfaithful who in his wicked 
slothfulness hid his talent. (Matt. 25: 14-30.) Any 
attempt to thrust a thousand years between the reck¬ 
oning with the faithful servants, and the unfaithful, 
destroys the point and pith of the parable. The fact 
that both classes stood together for the final reckoning 
is put beyond cavil by the statement, 44 Take, therefore, 
the talent from him, and give it to him which hath ten 
talents.” (Matt. 25: 28.) 

In His graphic description of the great judgment, 
Jesus gives an impressive picture of the gathering to- 




192 The Kingdom and Coming of Christ 


gether of all nations, both the good and the bad. He 
said, 44 When the Son of Man shall come in His glory, 
and all the holy angels with Him, then shall He sit 
upon the throne of His glory: And before Him shall 
be gathered all nations: and He shall separate them 
one from another as a shepherd divideth his sheep from 
the goats.” (Matt. 25:31, 32.) 

The mental contortions and literary 44 stunts ” per¬ 
formed by some millennialists in their attempts to break 
the force of this evidence, and read a thousand years 
into this description of the gathering of all nations, 
both the sheep and the goats, before the throne of divine 
judgment, is very distressing to the normal and well- 
balanced thinker. There is not the slightest justifica¬ 
tion for such a distortion of the language of Jesus. 
The good and the bad of all nations must come forth 
since the representation of the judgment is designed to 
impress upon the followers of Jesus the duty of works 
of mercy. 

One instinctively turns to the clear thinking and 
logical Apostle Paul to get the apostolic viewpoint. 
He outlines the gospel teaching in a representative 
passage in his second epistle to the Corinthians. 44 For 
we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle 
were dissolved we have a building of God, an house not 
made with hands, eternal in the heavens. . . . For we 
must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; 
that every one may receive the things done in his body, 
according to that he hath done, whether it be good or 
bad.” (2 Cor. 5: 1, 10.) The terms of this passage 
are so clear that comment is unnecessary. The Apos¬ 
tle leaves no room to conclude that any extended period 
of time elapses between the appearance of the good and 
the bad before the judgment seat of Christ; therefore 




The Two Resurrections 


193 


there is no indication of a millennial period between the 
resurrection of the two classes. 

The fullest description of this final scene is given 
in this glowing imagery of the apocalypse. 

And I saw a great white throne, and Him that sat upon 
it, from whose face the earth and the heaven iled away; 
and there was found no place for them. And I saw the 
dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books 
were opened: and another book was opened, which is the 
book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things 
which were written in the books, according to their works. 
And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death 
and hell (margin, “ or the grave ”) delivered up the dead 
which were in them: and they were judged every man ac¬ 
cording to their works. And death and hell were cast into 
the lake of fire. This is the second death. And whosoever 
was not found written in the book of life was cast into the 
lake of fire. (Rev. 20: 11-15.) 

The scene here depicted follows the second resurrec¬ 
tion. But the millennialists claim that the righteous 
were “ raised out of the dead ” a thousand years pre¬ 
vious to this great judgment; and that this scene repre¬ 
sents the resurrection and judgment of 44 the rest of the 
dead ” only. If this were true, why should the Book of 
Life be opened with the other books? Let it be noted 
that this is the only book that receives specific mention. 
Only the righteous are recorded in the Book of Life. 
If all the righteous had been 44 raised out of the dead ” 
a whole millennium before this resurrection and judg¬ 
ment, there are no rational grounds for introducing 
here the Book of Life. This figure of the books is pe¬ 
culiarly Jewish. Moses, when praying in heart anguish 
for idolatrous Israel, and fearful lest the awful sin 
could not be forgiven, pleaded, 44 Yet now, if thou 
wilt forgive their sin —; and if not, blot me, I pray thee 




194 The Kingdom and Coming of Christ 


out of thy book which thou hast written. And the 
Lord said unto Moses, 4 Whosoever hath sinned against 
me, him will I blot out of my book.’” (Ex. 32:32, 
33.) Interesting references are found in the Psalms 
of this Book of God. (Psa. 56:8; 139:10.) Mala- 
chi speaks of the book of remembrance which 
was written before the Lord for them that feared Him. 
(Mai. 3:16.) The Rabbinical writings between the 
Old and New Testaments placed great emphasis upon 
the books of God, particularly the Book of Life and 
the book of death. The Rabbins evidently based 
their teaching on the visions of Daniel, which read: 
44 1 beheld till the thrones were cast down, and the An¬ 
cient of Days did sit, whose garment was white as 
snow, and the hair of His head like pure wool: His 
throne was like the fiery flame, and His wheels as burn¬ 
ing fire. A fiery stream issued and came forth from 
before Him: thousand thousands ministered unto Him, 
and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before 
Him: the judgment was set, and the books were opened.” 
(Dan. 7:9, 10.) The description given here of the 
Judge upon the throne is so similar to those in Reve¬ 
lation that one is forced to the conclusion that John 
wrote with the visions of Daniel before him. This 
imagery was familiar to the Jews because it occupied 
a large place in the apocalyptic writings of the Rabbins. 
Daniel says also, 44 And at that time shall Michael 
stand up, the great Prince that standeth for the chil¬ 
dren of Thy people: and there shall be a time of trou¬ 
ble, such as there never was since there was a nation 
even to that same time: and at that time they shall be 
delivered, and every one that shall be found written in 
the book of life.” (Dan. 12: 1.) John makes several 
references to the Book of Life. (Rev. 3:5; 13:8; 




The Two Resurrections 


195 


21:27.) This Book of Life contains the record of 
God’s people, those who are worthy of eternal glory. 
Therefore, the opening of this book at the resurrection 
and the judgment of the dead, as described in the twen¬ 
tieth chapter of Revelation, is proof of the presence 
of the righteous dead whose names are written therein. 
There is no reason for introducing the Book of Life 
for the judgment of the wicked. Their names are in 
the book of death. The procedure outlined by John 
deals with both the good and the bad. 

44 The books were opened: and another book was 
opened which is the Book of Life, and the dead were 
judged out of those things which were written in the 
books, according to their works.” (Rev. 20:12.) 
The whole setting is that of a general judgment in 
which all the dead, whether in Christ or out of Christ, 
come forth to be judged 44 according to the deeds done 
in the body ” as they are written in the books of God. 
They whose names are written in the Book of Life shall 
receive the full rewards of the righteous, they whose 
names 44 are not written in the book of life shall be 
cast into the lake of fire.” (Rev. 20:15.) This vision 
of John on Patmos harmonizes with the visions of 
Daniel, the parables of the kingdom, the parables of 
judgment and the definite declarations of the Apostles 
in their epistles. In all these statements, there is no 
provision for a thousand year period between the resur¬ 
rection and judgment of the righteous, and the resur¬ 
rection and judgment of 44 the rest of the dead.” All 
44 the dead great and small,” the good and the bad, all 
classes and conditions of men appear together before 
the great white throne and Him that sat upon it, 44 from 
whose face the earth and the heaven fled away.” The 
description is conclusive. 




196 The Kingdom and Coming of Christ 


This interpretation is strongly supported by the re¬ 
peated statements of Jesus that He would raise up the 
believing saints at 44 the last day.” (John 6:39, 40, 
44, 45.) This is the time that Paul speaks of as 44 that 
day” (1 Tim. 1:12 and 4:8), which is the day of 
judgment. It is at this time, according to Jesus, that 
those who believe in Him and receive everlasting life 
shall be 44 raised up.” (John 6: 40.) 

The millennialists endeavor to negative these clear 
statements by arguing that 44 the last day ” is a thou¬ 
sand year period, and the resurrection of the righteous 
is in the beginning or morning of the day; and the 
resurrection of 44 the rest of the dead ” is in the closing 
or evening of the day. Between this morning and eve¬ 
ning, or throughout the day or thousand years, the 
millennial reign of Jesus will be in full glory. It has 
been shown that the thousand year and millennial reign 
theories lack scriptural support, therefore, the length 
of 44 the last day ” is purely a matter of speculation. 
It may be many more than a thousand years, or it 
may be many years less. On this point, Jesus and 
the Apostolic writers are silent, therefore, we have no 
data for determining its length. The duration of 
44 that day ” is immaterial to the truth revealed. They 
who attempt to fix its limits have little profit for their 
pains. Peter’s statement, 44 One day is with the Lord 
as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one 
day,” is the Apostle’s way of rebuking the folly of at¬ 
tempting to fix the operations of God within definite 
time limits. 

The inevitable conclusion is that those who hear the 
word of Jesus and believe on God through Him have 
everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; 
but are passed from death unto life. 44 This is the first 




The Two Resurrections 


197 


resurrection.” These shall live and reign with Christ 
a thousand years, or in perfect security. (John 5: 
24*, 25.) 44 On such the second death shall have no 
power.” (Rev. 20:4, 5, 6.) By the second death is 
meant, 44 everlasting destruction from the presence of 
the Lord and the glory of His power ” (2 Thess. 1:9), 
or what is commonly meant by 44 final perdition.” This 
is another Rabbinical mode of speech in very frequent 
use, and by it they understood the punishment of hell 
in a future life. 

Though the soul is vitalized by the power of this 
everlasting life, the body will die. 46 This earthly house 
of our tabernacle will dissolve,” but 44 the hour is com¬ 
ing when all that are in their graves shall hear the 
voice of the Son of God, and shall come forth.” (John 
5: 28, 29.) This is the second resurrection. 44 For 
this corruptible must put on incorruption and this 
mortal must put on immortality. . . . Then shall be 
brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is 
swallowed up in victory.” (1 Cor. 15:53, 54.) Only 
the saints of God pass through these two resurrections. 




CHAPTER IX 


JESUS COMING AGAIN 

Introduction 

T HERE is quite general agreement among Chris¬ 
tians that Christ is coming again, but there is a 
wide diversity of opinion as to the purpose of His com¬ 
ing, and how and when He will come. Is He coming to 
purify the earth, and establish a new kingdom over 
which He will preside in actual bodily presence as the 
supreme ruler? The premillennialists claim that He 
is and that this coming is imminent. They claim that 
at His first advent, He was rejected by His own people 
and ejected from the world. He returned unto the 
heavens “ until the times of restitution of all things ” 
(Acts 3:21), when He will come again, establish His 
kingdom on the earth, and during His millennial reign 
make an end of sin and save the world. In the pre¬ 
ceding chapters, we have shown that the dispensation of 
salvation is the gospel of Jesus, and that the millennial- 
ist conception of the bodily reign of Jesus on earth for a 
thousand years lacks scriptural proof. It only re¬ 
mains for us to examine the teaching of the scriptures 
on the end of the world and the coming again of Jesus. 

A common method of interpretation with those who 
have a special theory or doctrine to advocate is to col¬ 
lect isolated and unrelated passages of scripture that 
seem to lend countenance to their scheme, and by 
bringing them together, regardless of their connections, 
bend them to suit their purposes. By this means, all 
sorts of fantastic theories may be given a show of scrip- 
198 


Jesus Coming Again 


199 


tural support. The correct and sure method is to 
study the passages of scripture in their connections 
and historical setting, and seek the author’s viewpoint 
and trend of thought. 

Every candid student of eschatology must recognize 
the fact that the revelations of the Bible on the future 
life are only partial. They are lacking in details, and 
do not attempt to outline a regular and consecutive 
program. There are consequently many problems left 
unsolved, and many questions unanswered. We are 
led up to the border of the illimitable future beyond 
which we have very little definite information. The at¬ 
tempt to go beyond the limitations of clearly revealed 
truth is to substitute conjecture and speculation for 
assured knowledge. One who dogmatizes on conjecture 
is an unsafe leader. The limitation of Divine Revela¬ 
tion is almost appalling. A noted theologian said of 
the Bible, “ We have a leaf out of one great book, and 
it begins and ends as it were in the middle of a sentence.” 
In theological studies we are constantly confronted with 
the fact “ that God is the centre everywhere of a science 
which has its circumference nowhere.” And yet in the 
Holy Scriptures enough is revealed to enable us to un¬ 
derstand the law of the Lord, and how to secure sal¬ 
vation and eternal glory. We can accept as conclu¬ 
sive the mandate of Moses, 64 The secret things belong 
to God: but the things which are revealed belong unto 
us and our children forever, that we may do all the 
words of this law.” 

1. The End of the World 

There are some New Testament terms that need de¬ 
fining before we can intelligently appreciate the mean¬ 
ing of Jesus and the apostles when they speak of the 




200 The Kingdom and Coming of Christ 


coming of the Lord. Foremost among these is the 
familiar expression, “ the end of the world.” The 
popular conception is that it means the passing away 
of the heavenly bodies, and the destruction of this ma¬ 
terial earth and the final ending of this physical uni¬ 
verse, or terrestrial world. This conception is so fixed 
in the minds of some that we may be thought tainted 
with heresy if we question its accuracy. Before we 
permit either prejudices or predilections to enslave our 
reason, it is well to examine carefully the scriptures to 
reassure ourselves. Our aim must be to learn the 
thought and meaning of the respective writers. 

Before one can fully appreciate the gospel meaning 
of “ the end of the world,” it is necessary to under¬ 
stand what the world is and when it began. 

There are several passages in this connection worthy 
of careful examination. Paul wrote to Timothy: 

Who hath saved us and called us with an holy calling, 
not according to our works, but according to His own pur¬ 
pose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before 
the world began: but is now made manifest by the appear¬ 
ing of our Saviour Jesus Christ, who hath abolished death 
and brought life and immortality to light through the gos¬ 
pel: whereunto I am appointed a preacher and an apostle, 
and a teacher of the Gentiles. (2 Tim. 1: 9-11.) 

The closing clause gives the purpose and point of 
Paul’s argument, namely, the salvation of the Gentiles 
under the gospel of Jesus on the same terms and condi¬ 
tions as the Jews. This he claims “was given us in 
Christ Jesus before the world began.” It is commonly 
assumed that the expression “ before the world began ” 
means before the beginning of the creation of this 
material earth, or physical world. That, however, 
cannot be the meaning of Paul because the Greek word 




Jesus Coming Again 


201 


here translated 44 world ” is aionion and means age or 
dispensation. He is not speaking of the physical world 
at all, but of the religious dispensation. The whole 
phrase is pro chronon aionion , which, literally trans¬ 
lated, is, 44 before eternal times,” or 44 before the times 
of the ages.” 

The same expression is used in the epistle to Titus. 
We quote in full: 

Paul, a servant of God, and an apostle of Jesus Christ 
according to the faith of God’s elect, and the acknowledg¬ 
ing of the truth which is after godliness, in hope of the 
eternal life which God, that cannot lie, promised before the 
world began; but in due times manifested His word through 
preaching, which is committed unto me according to the 
commandment of God our Saviour. (Titus 1: 1-3.) 

Here Paul emphasizes the same glorious truth of the 
gospel, which he says God 44 promised before the world 
began,” pro chronon aionion , before the eternal times 
or before the times of the ages. The promise made 
before the times of the ages was 44 the hope of eternal 
life,” zoes aionion , to be given unto those who receive 
the gospel preached unto them. If the eternal times 
were before the beginning of the creation of this physi¬ 
cal world, to whom was this promise made? It could 
not have been made to men, because it would be before 
man’s creation. But the Apostle refers to a distinct 
promise made to the children of men. Therefore, these 
times must have been within the period of human his¬ 
tory. It must refer to the covenants of God with the 
fathers. But what period could be designated by Paul 
as eternal times? The only satisfactory explanation 
is, the phrase refers to the age before the giving of the 
law in the wilderness. The organization of Israel for 





202 The Kingdom arid Coming of Christ 

sanctuary worship divided the times into various fasts, 
feasts, seasons and jubilees. 

Pro chronon aionion is a Hebraism, meaning the Jew- 
ish jubilees. The Jews computed time by these jubi¬ 
lees as the Gentiles computed by their generations. 
Paul links up these two methods of computing time 
when he speaks of “ the mystery which hath been hid 
from ages (apo ton aionon) and from generations (apo 
ton generon ), but now is made manifest to the saints.” 
(Col. 1:25, 26.) This mystery which aforetime was 
hid both from the Jews and from the Gentiles, was the 
inclusion of the Gentiles in the covenants of grace. 

There is one other passage that claims attention. 
In closing his epistle to the Romans, Paul says: 

Now to Him that is of power to establish you according 
to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ according 
to the revelation of the mystery, which was kept secret 
since the world began, but is now made manifest, and by 
the scriptures of the prophets, according to the command¬ 
ment of the everlasting God, made known to all nations 
for the obedience of the faith. (Rom. 16 : 25 , 26 .) 

Here, again, we have the same mystery, “ the com¬ 
mandment of the everlasting God,” that all the nations 
should be the recipients of the promised blessings which 
was “kept secret since the world began.” ( Chronois 
aionois sesigemenou.) Literally, having been kept se¬ 
cret in the eternal times. As these were promises and 
commandments made to men, the “ eternal times ” or 
“ since the world began,” must come within the range 
of human history. These promises were before “ the 
world began,” but men did not comprehend the fulness 
of their meaning nor the sweep of their provisions. 
When were they made? They are specifically given in 
the Abrahamic covenant. “ In thee shall all the fami- 






Jesus Coming Again 


203 


lies of the earth be blessed.” 44 Thou shalt be a father 
of many nations,” and 44 Abraham shall surely become 
a great and mighty nation and all the nations of the 
earth shall be blessed in him.” (Gen. 12:3; 17:4, 5; 
18:18.) These covenants of grace were for all peo¬ 
ple. There were no tribal or racial distinctions or 
limitations. In the development and organization of 
the Israelites under the eternal statutes, nomimon 
aionion , the Hebrews became exclusive, and lost sight 
of the universal terms of their covenant which included 
the nations in its provisions. This was the mystery, 
which was revealed in Jesus Christ and made known 
unto the Gentiles by Paul, especially in his epistles to 
the Homans and Galatians. (Rom. ch. 4; Gal. ch. 3.) 
The special election of Israel was a provisional and 
temporary arrangement for the preservation of the 
true revelation and worship of God 44 until the fulness 
of time was come ” (Gal. 4:4), when God 44 sent forth 
His Son ” to redeem all men, establish His everlasting 
kingdom among men, and bring both Jews and Gentiles 
into the full enjoyment of salvation by grace through 
faith. This was the unfolding or manifestation of the 
mystery kept secret from the 44 foundation of the 
world.” 

The Benedictus of Zacharias, over the naming of 
his son John was, 44 Blessed be the Lord God of Israel; 
for He hath visited and redeemed His people and hath 
raised up an horn of salvation for us in the house of 
His servant David: as He spake by the mouth of His 
prophets since the world began” (ton ap ’ aionos). 
(Luke 1: 68-70.) Here we have the same words with¬ 
out the modifying cfironos. Literally, it means since 
the age began . This age covered the period of the 
law and the prophets. 44 As He spake by the mouth of 




204 The Kingdom and Coming of Christ 


His prophets since the age began.” This certainly 
fixes the time after the Egyptian emancipation. The 
law and the prophets began with Moses. The burden 
of the message of the prophets was, 44 That we should 
be saved from our enemies, and from the hand of all that 
hate us: to perform the mercy promised to our fathers, 
and to remember His holy covenant; the oath which He 
sware to our father Abraham.” (Luke 1:71—73.) 
This age, or 44 world,” therefore, began after the prom¬ 
ise, or oath made to Abraham, and is plainly a reli¬ 
gious age or dispensation, not a political dynasty. 

Peter preaching in the temple, after the healing of 
the lame man at the gate Beautiful, said, 44 Whom the 
heaven must receive until the times of restitution of all 
things, which God hath spoken by the mouth of all His 
holy prophets since the world began (ap’ aionos ).” 
(Acts 3:21.) This is the same expression used by 
Zacharias, and limited in the same manner to the age 
of the law and the prophets. This is placed beyond 
all doubt by the succeeding verse. 44 For Moses truly 
said unto the fathers, a prophet shall the Lord your 
God raise up unto you of your brethren like unto me; 
him shall ye hear in all things whatsoever he shall say 
unto you.” (Acts 3:22.) 

When the dissension arose in Jerusalem over the 
reception of the Gentiles into the church without cir¬ 
cumcision, a council of all the apostles and leading 
elders was called to consider the matter. After a full 
discussion of the question the Apostle James summed 
up the situation. In his address to the council he said, 
44 Known unto God are all his works from the beginning 
of the world” ( ap’ aionos). (Acts 15:18.) Here 
the same phrase is used again, which certainly means 
the same period. It does not mean from the beginning 





Jesus Coming Again 


205 


of the material creation of the world. It may be un¬ 
reservedly accepted that even before this time known 
unto God were all His works; but that is not what 
James said. Here we are not dealing with the fore¬ 
knowledge of God, but merely with the statement of 
James, which is that God’s plan was before him from 
the beginning of the age or dispensation of the law and 
the prophets. Zacharias, Peter, and James use the 
same phrase in practically the same connections and 
historical settings, and refer to the same age or dispen¬ 
sation. In every instance, the apostolic use of the 
expressions 44 since the w^orld began ” and 46 from the 
beginning of the world,” the reference is either to the 
covenant of grace made for the nations through Abra¬ 
ham, or the emphasis placed upon these covenant prom¬ 
ises by the Prophets. God had ordained from the time 
He entered into His covenant with Abraham, that He 
would make the Gentiles, or nations, partakers of the 
covenant blessings with Israel. (Eph. 1: 10.) In 
<£ the dispensation of the fulness of times,” the promised 
seed through the blood of the Cross broke down the 
middle wall of partition, that through the ages of offer¬ 
ings and sacrifices had separated the Jews from the 
nations, 44 And came and preached peace to them that 
were afar off (the Gentiles), and to them that were 
nigh” (the Jews). (Eph. 2: 17.) 

Having shown that by the phrase, 44 since the world 
began,” the apostles and the people of their time meant 
the beginning of the Mosaic economy or dispensation, 
we are prepared to consider the New Testament mean¬ 
ing of the expression, 44 the end of the world.” The 
writer of the Epistle to the Hebrews, contrasting the 
imperfect sacrifices of the sanctuary under the Levitical 
law, with the perfect offering of Christ for the sins of 





206 The Kingdom and Coming of Christ 


mankind, says, “For then must He often have suffered 
since the foundation of the world, but now once in the 
end of the world hath He appeared to put away sin by 
the sacrifice of Himself.” (Heb. 9:26.) Here we 
have “ the foundation of the world ” (apo kataboles 
kosmon) contrasted with “the end of the world” ( epi 
sunteleia ton aionon). While to the English reader 
the former expression conveys practically the same 
meaning as the phrase “ since the world began,” yet 
the Greek terms are quite different, and may be taken 
to mean “ since the beginning of the orderly universe.” 
The Greek kosmos, like the English world, is an equivo¬ 
cal word whose meaning has to be determined by the 
connection in w r hich it is used. Here the writer is con¬ 
trasting the imperfect sacrifices offered by the high 
priest in the holy place of the sanctuary every year 
with the perfect sacrifice of Jesus offered on Calvary 
once for all. The former was offered as an atonement 
for the sins of the worshipping Jews or Hebrews, the 
latter was an atonement made for all men. “ Jesus 
tasted death for every one” (Pantos). (Heb. 2:9.) 
As the whole discussion is of the relative efficacy of the 
offerings and sacrifices of the Mosaic economy it is 
only natural to assume that the expression “ from the 
foundation of the world ” used in this connection means 
from the laying down (Kataboles) of the organization 
of these sacrificial offerings. The real meaning of 
kosmos is an orderly organization. It is applied to the 
material world or universe only in so far as it is a set 
order or fashion. The other expression, “ the end of 
the world,” is literally the completion of the age. This 
end was when Jesus “ appeared to put away sin by the 
sacrifice of Himself ” and was consummated about nine¬ 
teen hundred years ago. But the material universe 




Jesus Coming Again 


207 


remained, and still remains unchanged. Therefore, the 
only conclusion is that this 44 end of the world ” was 
the completion and passing away of the Mosaic econ¬ 
omy which was imposed upon the children of Israel 
44 until the time of reformation.” (Heb. 9:10.) 

We have still further scriptural evidence that this 
was the accepted meaning of the phrase, 44 the end of 
the world.” In his Epistle to the Corinthians, Paul 
says, 44 Now all these things happened to them for ex¬ 
amples ; and they are written for our admonition upon 
whom the ends of the world (ta tete ton aionon) are 
come.” (1 Cor. 10: 11.) The plural form, 44 the ends 
of the world,” must have special significance. These 
44 ends ” had come upon that generation of the apostles; 
therefore, they must be events of past history. They 
also clearly indicate a great religious transition. The 
only interpretation that will fit all the facts is, the 
Apostle refers to the completion of the Mosaic economy 
and the beginning of the gospel dispensation. These 
expressions were familiar idioms to the Jews of the 
Apostolic age. The Rabbins divided the duration of 
time into three parts, or ages; first, the age before the 
law, or the patriarchal dispensation; second, the age 
under the law, or the Mosaic dispensation; and third, 
the age under the Messiah, which to them would be the 
last dispensation. The generation of the apostles 
marked the transition from the age under the law, to 
the age under the Messiah. Thus 44 the ends of the 
world,” the closing of the old dispensation, and the 
beginning of the new, came upon them. 

The gospel, also, holds in view the end of the age 
under the Messiah. A few of the parables of Jesus 
plainly indicate a final adjudication at the end of the 
gospel age. In the parable of the tares, Jesus said, 





208 The Kingdom and Coming of Christ 


“ As therefore the tares are gathered and burned in 
the fire; so shall it be in the end of the world ” (Matt. 
13:40) (en to sunteleia ton aionos toutou). The lit¬ 
eral translation is “ in the completion of this age.” 
The emphatic this would seem to confine the time to the 
closing of the age under the law, as the gospel dispen¬ 
sation had not then been fully established. But Jesus 
said, “ The law and the prophets were until John: since 
that time the kingdom of God is preached, and every 
man presseth into it.” (Luke 16:16.) The judg¬ 
ment of the parables would seem, therefore, to come 
more properly under the closing scenes of the gospel 
age. Dr. Adam Clark makes this comment: 

Some learned men are of the opinion that the whole of 
this parable refers to the Jewish state and people, and 
that the words sunteleia aionos which are commonly trans¬ 
lated “ the end of the world,” the end of the age, i. e., the 
end of the Jewish polity. That the words have this mean¬ 
ing in other places, there can be no doubt; and this may be 
their primary meaning here; but there are other matters 
in the parable which agree far better with the consumma¬ 
tion of all things, than with the end of the Jewish dispensa¬ 
tion or polity. 

The same statement is made in “ the parable of the 
fish net” (Matt. 13:49) with this difference, the em¬ 
phatic adjective this (Gr. tout on ) is omitted. Other¬ 
wise, the same comments apply as to the parable of the 
tares. When giving His great commission to the Apos¬ 
tles, Jesus promised His presence “All the days unto 
the end of the world ” (prasas tas emeras eos teo 
suntleleias ton aionos ), literally, “ all the days until 
the completion of the age.” This can mean only until 
the completion of the age under the Messiah, or the 
gospel dispensation. 




Jesus Coming Again 


209 


This, then, was the common expression of the times 
of the Messiah to designate the completion of an age, 
or dispensation in the religious life or history of the 
people, whether it be the age before the law, under the 
law, or under the Messiah. In all correct expositions 
of eschatology, this fact must be recognized, and the 
ages differentiated to avoid confusion of thought and 
erroneous conclusions. 

2. The Return of Jesus to His Disciples 

The coming of Christ is associated with the end of 
the world. The millennialists endeavor to work every 
mention of a coming, appearing, manifestation, or reve¬ 
lation of Jesus into their scheme of a bodily presence 
and millennial reign of Jesus on earth. This leads to 
a misinterpretation of scripture, and a serious confu¬ 
sion of thought, as well as a misconception of the pur¬ 
pose and glory of the gospel. There are several events 
in the development and extension of the kingdom of 
God that are described in the New Testament as a 
coming or appearing of Jesus. It is necessary to 
clear, sound thinking, and an intelligent saving faith in 
Christ our Lord and Saviour, to distinguish carefully 
between these manifestations or revelations. 

The discourse of Jesus in the historic upper room at 
the last Passover is intensely interesting. The dis¬ 
ciples were much depressed by the repeated announce¬ 
ment of Jesus that He was going to leave them; but 
He repeatedly assured them that He would come to 
them again. In this entrancing conversation, He men¬ 
tioned three different comings for three distinct pur¬ 
poses. 

First, after a brief absence from them, He would 
come to them and give them fuller and more definite 




210 The Kingdom and Coming of Christ 


instructions in the kingdom of heaven and their great 
world evangelizing mission. He said, “ Little chil¬ 
dren, yet a little while I am with you. Ye shall seek 
me: and as I said unto the Jews, whither I go ye cannot 
come; so now I say unto you.” Peter became anxious 
about this saying, and asked, “ Lord, whither goest 
thou? Jesus answered him, Whither I go thou canst 
not follow me now; but thou shalt follow me after¬ 
wards.” (John 13:33, 36.) Later in the conversa¬ 
tion, Jesus said, “ A little while and ye shall not see 
me: and again, a little while and ye shall see me, be¬ 
cause I go unto my Father.” His disciples were much 
perplexed over this saying and questioned among them¬ 
selves what it might mean. Jesus knew they were de¬ 
sirous to ask Him, and said unto them, “ Do ye enquire 
among yourselves of that I said, 4 A little while and ye 
shall not see me and again a little while and ye shall 
see me ’? Verily, verily, I say unto you, that ye shall 
weep and lament, but the world shall rejoice: and ye 
shall be sorrowful but your sorrow shall be turned into 
joy.” (John 16:16-20.) This little while can have 
no other meaning than the time He was absent from 
them between His crucifixion and resurrection. He 
told them that after His resurrection He would go 
before them into Galilee, and meet them there. (Matt. 
26:32.) After this, He was with them for a little 
while. 44 For forty days He showed Himself alive by 
many infallible proofs.” (Acts 1:3.) During this 
time He gave them special instruction in the meaning 
of the scriptures and gave them the great missionary 
commission. (Luke 24:41-53.) The return to His 
disciples after His death made patent to them His con¬ 
tinued and exalted life, and thereby established their 
faith in Him as their everlasting Lord. 





Jesus Coming Again 


211 


He also promised His disciples that He would return 
to them, that they might enjoy His abiding presence. 
He said, 44 I will not leave you comfortless (or orphans), 
I will come to you.” (John 14: 18, 28.) And again, 
44 Ye have heard how I said unto you, I go away, and 
come again unto you.” And again after His resurrec¬ 
tion, and just previous to His ascension, He said, 44 Lo, 
I am with you alway even unto the end of the world.” 
(Matt. 28: 20.) But this promised presence is only to 
those who love and serve Him. Jesus said, 44 He that 
hath my commandments and keepeth them, he it is that 
loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my 
Father, and I will love him and manifest myself to 
him.” (John 14:21.) When Judas questioned the 
possibility of Jesus manifesting Himself unto them and 
not unto the world, He replied, 44 If a man love me, he 
will keep my words; and my Father will love him, and 
we will come unto him and make our abode with him.” 
(John 14:23.) 

Throughout this discourse, Jesus kept the stress on 
the promise of the Father that the Holy Ghost would 
come to His disciples after His departure as their spe¬ 
cial guide, teacher, comforter, and advocate, to qualify 
them to carry on the work he had begun in the world. 
Thus unto the Holy Ghost, the third person of the 
Trinity, was committed the ministry of redemption. 
Jesus said, 44 If I go not away the Comforter will not 
come unto you; but if I depart I will send Him unto 
you.” (John 16:7.) Here we are confronted by 

strange paradoxes. 

He was to leave them, and yet not forsake them; to go 
away, and yet to be with them; to go and yet to come to 
them. They were to be deprived of Him, their Head, yet 
orphans they should not be. Another was to come yet not 




212 The Kingdom and Coming of Christ 


another; a Comforter from the Father, from Himself; 
whom, not as in His case, the world could neither know 
nor see, but whom they should know, though they could not 
see. His own presence with them was a privilege which no 
tongue could worthily tell. Blessed were their eyes for 
what they saw, and their ears for what they heard. Better 
still than even this was to be the presence of the Holy 
Ghost, who would follow Him as He had followed John. 
(William Arthur, Tongue of Fire, page 3.) 

Here we have the three persons of the Trinity, the 
Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, clearly distin¬ 
guished, and yet carrying on together the great work 
of man’s redemption and the world’s salvation. While 
Jesus differentiates between Himself and the comforter 
who is to follow Him in an abiding ministry to the dis¬ 
ciples, Fie keeps the emphasis on the fact that He Him¬ 
self is coming again to abide with, and in them. In the 
parable of the vine He said, “ Abide in me and I in 
you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself except 
it abide in the vine; no more can ye except ye abide in 
me.” (John 15: 4.) It is very evident that this abid¬ 
ing presence of Jesus is not in bodily form, but in spir¬ 
itual power. As God is a Spirit, and ever present with 
Flis people, even so the exalted and glorified Jesus is a 
Spirit and ever present with those that love Him and 
keep His words. It is an abiding presence that is clear 
to the spiritual consciousness of the obedient disciple 
though unknown to the world. 

Millennialists object to this interpretation as “ spir¬ 
itualizing.” They say, “ the coming again of Christ 
must be a real bodily presence,” but a spiritual pres¬ 
ence is as real, as a bodily presence. This fact Jude 
could not understand when Jesus was talking with 
them, but He assured him that it was true. The re¬ 
ligion of Jesus is preeminently spiritual in its nature, 





Jesus Coming Again 


213 

operations, and results. They pervert the fountains of 
divine truth who deny that the spiritual verities of the 
religion of Jesus are literally true. 

The reason the Jewish rulers failed to understand 
Jesus, and crucified Him as an impostor was their 
minds had been so perverted by the materialism of the 
times that they could think only in physical and politi¬ 
cal terms. Because of their environment, education, 
and political expectations, the disciples were at first 
handicapped by the limitations of the times. As the 
only possible means of teaching them spiritual truths 
was by the medium of human language, which was essen¬ 
tially materialistic, Jesus was at a very great disad¬ 
vantage. In this discourse Jesus undertook to over¬ 
come these disabilities and so impart the deeper spir¬ 
itual realities of religious experience, that these select 
disciples might rise above the superficiality and for¬ 
malism of their times and grip the eternal verities of 
God. But in spite of all His efforts, their political 
predilections, and materialistic proclivities, barred their 
approach to the unsearchable riches of heavenly grace 
and fellowship. It was the recognition of these mental 
and spiritual limitations that constrained Jesus to say, 
44 I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye can¬ 
not bear them now. Howbeit, when He the Spirit of 
Truth is come, He will guide you into all truth: for He 
shall not speak of Himself; but whatsoever He shall 
hear, that shall He speak; and He shall show you 
things to come.” (John 16:12, 13.) 

Under the full ministry of the Holy Ghost, those dis¬ 
ciples learned these mysteries of the kingdom of God, 
and enjo} r ed the conscious presence and fellowship of 
Jesus. It is likewise the privilege of every Christian 
to enjoy the actual presence of Jesus every day. 44 For 




214 The Kingdom and Coming of Christ 


lo, I am with you all the days, even unto the end of the 
world,” is His great promise. 

As in wireless telegraphy there must be a real ad¬ 
justment and correspondence between the sending and 
receiving instruments, even so in the spiritual fellow¬ 
ship between the glorified Jesus and His disciples, there 
must be a true spiritual harmony and sympathy. The 
vital spiritual connection is attained and maintained 
only by holy love and obedience. All our spiritual ad¬ 
justments, relations, and experiences depend upon our 
fidelity to the principles of devotion, love, and obedi¬ 
ence. 

There is yet another coming again emphasized by 
Jesus in this upper room discourse. He said, “ In my 
Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so I 
would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. 
And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come 
again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, 
there ye may be also.” (John 14:2, 3.) 

Millennialists rob this charming promise of its com¬ 
fort for dying saints by denying any “ coming again ” 
of Jesus until the end of the world, when they say He 
will come to establish His millennial kingdom. This is 
a most arbitrary way of wresting sacred language. 
The Father’s house of many mansions is not “ yet fu¬ 
ture.” It has a present existence, Jesus spoke of it as 
existing when He was going away. In fact, the Fa¬ 
ther’s house of which He speaks so familiarly, is heaven, 
God’s dwelling place. Jesus claimed to have come down 
from heaven (John 3: 13), and after His resurrection 
He ascended to heaven again. The place He went to 
prepare for His disciples is, therefore, in heaven, not on 
the earth. It is forcing language beyond all the limits 
of reason to say that the place Jesus went to prepare 




Jesus Coming Again 


215 


for those disciples is on this earth and after nineteen 
centuries is still unprepared. There could not be much 
consolation for those troubled ones in such a far-off 
hope. 44 That where I am, ye may be also,” can¬ 
not mean that in the very place in which He was then 
assembled with His disciples, He would receive them 
after His return. If He were speaking of His return 
from the grave this might be a permissible interpreta¬ 
tion, because after His resurrection, He did meet with 
His disciples in that upper room. But then He did 
not receive His disciples, they received Him, and en¬ 
tertained Him. That was not His Father’s house. 
The natural and consistent interpretation of the lan¬ 
guage of the text is that Jesus meant the home of 
the saints in heaven. 44 I go away ” meant His ascen¬ 
sion to the right hand of God, 44 Far above all prin¬ 
cipalities, and power, and might, and dominion, and 
every name that is named, not only in this world, 
but also in that which is to come.” (Eph. 1:21.) 
It is this exalted heaven where God the Father is 
that the glorified Jesus entered to prepare a place in 
which to receive His disciples. Just what that prepa¬ 
ration was to be is not stated, but this is apparently 
what Paul meant when he said, 44 For we know that if 
our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we 
have a building of God, a house not made with hands, 
eternal in the heavens.” (2 Cor. 5:1.) The eternal 
Son of God could only speak in the present tense. 
44 Where I am ye may be also,” is the natural way for 
Him who said, 44 Before Abraham was, I am,” to ex¬ 
press eternal abode with Him. in the mansions of glory. 
The time when He would come and receive them unto 
Himself was when their sacrifice and service on earth 
was over and they were prepared to enter the many 




216 The Kingdom and Coming of Christ 


mansions of the Father’s house. This does not mean 
that death is the work of God, or the coming of Christ. 
It simply means that when the faithful saints depart 
this life, Jesus comes to receive them into His Father’s 
house. The experience of Deacon Stephen, the first 
Christian martyr, is an exact fulfilment of this promise. 
When the rulers gnashed upon Stephen with their teeth, 
he “ being full of the Holy Ghost, looked steadfastly 
into heaven and saw the glory of God and Jesus stand¬ 
ing on the right hand of God.” (Acts 7: 54, 55.) The 
vision of Stephen was of the glorified Jesus prepared to 
come and receive him into the prepared place, when the 
enemy death had done his work. It is not an uncom¬ 
mon thing for dying Christians to report to their 
watching friends that they have visions of their Lord 
coming to meet them. This interpretation of the prom¬ 
ise of Jesus is a great source of consolation to the suf¬ 
fering saint who is approaching the dark valley of 
death. 

While the promise, “ I will come again,” in this pas¬ 
sage may not be strictly confined to the Lord’s recep¬ 
tion of the dying saint, there is nothing in its connec¬ 
tions to warrant the; millennial interpretation that 
Jesus meant He would come again at the end of the 
gospel age and prepare this earth as a dwelling place 
for the saints. The place in the many mansions was 
the place to which He was going immediately. Jesus 
went into heaven, the Father’s house. It is here that 
He now sits at the right hand of God to make inter¬ 
cession for transgressors. It is from thence He comes 
to receive His disciples unto Himself. When the disci¬ 
ples depart this life they will go to be with Jesus. This 
was the hope and desire of Paul. The draw of the 
heavenly home upon his heartstrings was so great that 




Jesus Coming Again 


217 


he was “ in a strait betwixt two ” and knew not which 
was the better, to remain in the Lord’s work with His 
friends on earth, or to enter the communion of the saints 
in heaven. He said, “ For to me to live is Christ, and 
to die is gain. But if I live in the flesh this is the fruit 
of my labor. Yet what I shall choose I wot not. For 
I am in a strait betwixt two, having a desire to depart, 
and to be with Christ; which is far better: nevertheless 
to abide in the flesh is more needful for you.” (Phil. 
1:21-24.) 

3. The Coming of the Lord at the Destruction of 
Jerusalem 

In the poetry and prophecy of the Jews, great dem¬ 
onstrations of power, whether of national victory or 
defeat, were ascribed to a coming, appearance, or pres¬ 
ence of the Lord. When King David celebrated his 
grand victory over the Philistines and gave thanks for 
his deliverance from the enemy, he sang: 

Then the earth shook and trembled; the foundations of 
heaven moved and shook, because He (God) was wroth. 
There went up smoke out of His nostrils, and fire out of 
His mouth devoured, coals were kindled by it. He bowed 
the heavens also and came down, and darkness was under 
His feet. And He rode upon a cherub and did fly: and 
He was seen upon the wings of the wind. And He made 
darkness pavilions round about Him, dark waters and thick 
clouds of the sky. (2 Sam. 22:8-12; Psa. 18:7-14.) 

This is clearly the hyperbole expressed in poetical 
imagery — a literary license common to all languages, 
but quite characteristic of the Hebrew. Here is an¬ 
other passage: 

The Lord reigneth; let the earth rejoice, let the multi- 




£18 The Kingdom and Coming of Christ 


tude of the isles be glad thereof. Clouds and darkness 
are round about Him: righteousness and judgment are the 
habitation of His throne. A fire goeth before Him and 
burneth up His enemies round about Him. His lightnings 
enlighten the world: the earth saw and trembled. The 
hills melted like wax at the presence of the Lord, at the 
presence of the Lord of the whole earth. (Psa. 97: 1-5.) 

This poetical imagery permeates the writings of the 
prophets. It was from these characteristic figures of 
their national literature that both Jesus and His dis¬ 
ciples drew their startling figures to set forth the bless¬ 
ings and judgments of God. Hence, it was natural 
for them to call any national calamity, “ a coming ” or 
“ day of the Lord.” These facts must be given due con¬ 
sideration in every interpretation of the New Testa¬ 
ment, particularly in the study of eschatology. This 
apocalyptic style is very marked in the teaching of 
Jesus, especially in Matthew’s report of his predic¬ 
tions of the end of the world, and the coming of Christ, 
given in the twenty-fourth chapter of his gospel. 

Some consider this chapter a mosaic of the sayings 
of Jesus, grouped by Matthew for a specific purpose. 
If so, it is impossible to separate the parts and assign 
them to their original setting with any degree of suc¬ 
cess. The prophetic parts of the chapter run out 
into the parables of warning and judgment, in the 
twenty-fifth chapter, in such a way as to make it ap¬ 
pear, at least, that they all formed a continuous dis¬ 
course. If the chapter is a mosaic, Matthew grouped 
these materials in a very skilful way for the purpose of 
presenting the teaching of Jesus on the judgments of 
God in the most impressive and emphatic manner. He 
begins with the divine judgment against rebellious Je¬ 
rusalem, and the apostate Jewish nation. The setting 




Jesus Coming Again 


219 


of the scene is in itself very imposing. It was the 
evening before the great paschal day. Jesus had de-« 
nounced the heartlessness of 44 the Scribes, Pharisees, 
hypocrites ” in the most vehement and condemnatory 
language. (Matt. 23.) He closed His denunciation 
with this striking apostrophe: 

O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets 
and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would 
I have gathered thy children together, as a hen gathereth 
her chickens under her wings, and ye would not! Behold, 
your house is left unto you desolate. For I say unto you. 
Ye shall not see me henceforth, till ye shall say, “ Blessed 
is he that cometh in the name of the Lord.” (Matt. 23 : 
37 - 39 .) 

44 And Jesus went out and departed from the temple.” 
His disciples, deeply impressed by this strange lan¬ 
guage, and imbued with the national hope of a fully 
restored Davidic kingdom, could not think of their 
holy city and temple being left desolate. They came 
to Jesus and called His attention to the grandeur of 
the temple. It must have been a great shock to them 
when He replied: 44 See ye not all these things ? 

Verily I say unto you, there shall not be left here one 
stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down.” 
It must have been a quiet thoughtful walk out of the 
city and to the top of Olivet. These startling 
statements of Jesus would awaken new questions in 
the minds of the disciples and send mingled emotions 
surging through their souls. Having reached the 
height of the Mount of Olives on the Bethany road 
where the temple was in full view, and its splendid 
domes and spires of white and gold glistened in the 
setting sun, these worried disciples came to Jesus and 
asked Him, 44 Tell us when shall these things be? What 




220 The Kingdom and Coming of Christ 


shall be the sign of thy coming and the end of the 
world.” (Matt. 24: 1-3.) 

The nature and scope of the answer to this threefold 
question must be largely determined by the circum¬ 
stances and intention, of what prompted it. While 
these disciples were confidently expecting the end of the 
age under the law when the Messiah entered upon His 
kingdom is very evident; but they had never for a mo¬ 
ment associated the destruction of Jerusalem and its 
temple with the realization of the Messianic hope. 
Their confused condition of mind would naturally ac¬ 
count for the form of their questions. 

The ordinary English reader might take it for 
granted, that by “ the end of the world ” they meant 
the end of time, and the material universe. The Greek 
student, however, knows that the language used, teo 
sunteleias ton aionos , has no such meaning. It simply 
means the completion of the age or dispensation. 
There is no evidence that they had in mind the end of 
the gospel age, that is, the age under the Messiah. 
They were still expecting that age to begin, but they 
believed before this could be accomplished the king¬ 
dom of Israel must be restored. That would bring to 
an end the age under the law. It was doubtless this 
that they had in view. “ When will these things be ? ” 
was their anxious inquiry. The “ these things ” were 
certainly the executing of the “ woes upon the Scribes, 
Pharisees, hypocrites,” the desolation of Jerusalem, 
and the complete overthrow of the temple. Their 
knowledge of Old Testament imagery in the description 
of great providential happenings and national catas¬ 
trophes, and particularly the statements of Jesus, 
would naturally lead them to associate this predicted 
catastrophe to their own capital city, with the com- 





Jesus Coming Again 


221 


ing of Christ. They therefore, in true Jewish fashion, 
asked for a sign of His coming. We thus have the 
situation before us for a study of the dramatic answer 
of Jesus. The minds of these anxious disciples were 
not occupied with possible events in the far distant 
future. They were entirely under the spell of the an¬ 
nouncement of pending disaster, and were very solic¬ 
itous to know what was going to happen in their time. 

Jesus in a very serious and guarded manner pro¬ 
ceeded to enlighten them on “ these things.” He first 
warned them against deceptions and false prophets. 
He said, “ Take heed that no man deceive you. For 
many shall come in my name, saying, 6 1 am Christ,’ and 
shall deceive many.” (Matt. 24: 5.) This warning is 
as pertinent and important in these days as it was then. 
Many rise up with fanciful theories and peculiar inter¬ 
pretations of these very scriptures, claiming special 
divine illumination, and thus impose upon the credulous. 
Even in the days of Jesus and His apostles, false 
Christs did arise and deceive multitudes. We read in 
the early part of the Acts of one Theudas who “ boasted 
himself to be something.” (Acts 5:36, 37.) Also of 
Judas of Galilee, “ Who drew away much people,” and 
of an Egyptian, who in the days of Paul, “ led out into 
the wilderness four thousand men.” (Acts 21:38.) 
The Apostle John in his first Epistle wrote, “ Even 
now are there many anti-Christs, whereby we know that 
it is the last time.” (1 John 2: 18.) 

Jesus also warned against hasty and precipitate 
conclusions, saying, “ And ye shall hear of wars and 
rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all 
these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. 
For nation shall rise up against nation, and kingdom 
against kingdom; and there shall be famine, and pesti- 




222 The Kingdom and Coming of Christ 


lence, and earthquakes in divers places. All these are 
the beginning of sorrow.” (Matt. 24:6, 7.) Millen- 
nialists seize upon these predictions as indicating the 
present war; and as unquestionable proof that the end 
of the world is at hand, and base thereon fervid warn¬ 
ings and exhortations. In fact, these predictions have 
done duty in every war period of the Christian era. 
The would-be prophets have been so often confounded 
by history' that one would think they would them¬ 
selves begin to question the reliability of their inter¬ 
pretations. As a matter of fact, this is not a pre¬ 
diction of twentieth century wars at all, but of the 
disastrous wars that were pending at that time, and 
which resulted in the complete destruction of Jeru¬ 
salem and the final breaking up of the Jewish nation. 
The record of these wars given by Josephus and others 
is an exact fulfilment of this prediction. Famines and 
pestilence abounded. The writer of the Acts mentioned 
a widespread and trying famine. 44 And there stood up 
one of them named Agabus, and signified by the spirit, 
that there should be great dearth throughout all the 
world; which came to pass in the days of Claudius 
Caesar.” (Acts 11. 28.) 

Jesus furthermore told these anxious disciples of the 
hatred and persecution that would be heaped upon them, 
personally, and upon all who would believe on Him. 
44 Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and 
shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for 
my name’s sake. And then shall many be offended and 
betray one another, and shall hate one another, and 
many false prophets shall arise and deceive many, and 
because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall 
wax cold. But he that endureth to the end shall be 
saved.” (Matt. 24: 9^-13.) 




Jesus Coming Again 


Any one at all familiar with the New Testament 
knows how frequently Jesus warned His disciples of the 
persecutions their mission would excite, and how 
quickly after Pentecost the persecutors got to work. 
Treachery and deception even entered the church and 
there was backsliding and apostasy. All this hap¬ 
pened in the time of the apostles. In these matters, 
also, history has repeated itself. In every age more 
or less of this persecuting, vacillating spirit has pre¬ 
vailed. If there is backsliding and apostasy in these 
modern times, it only proves that there are still un¬ 
stable and self-seeking people. It does not prove that 
the predictions of Jesus have regard primarily of the 
twentieth century. 

At this point of the discourse, many meet an appar¬ 
ently insuperable difficulty to their acceptance of our 
interpretation, in the prediction, “ This gospel of the 
kingdom shall be preached in all the world, for a wit¬ 
ness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.” 
(Matt. 24:14.) They say, 66 These predictions could 
not have meant the Jewish wars, and the trials and 
persecutions of the Apostolic age because the gospel 
has not yet been preached in all the world.” It is 
true, of course, that even yet the vast majority of the 
world’s population have not heard the gospel. But, 
after all, is this objection well founded? Are we jus¬ 
tified in taking this, or any other scripture prophecy 
out of its connections, historical setting, and native 
atmosphere, and attempting to force it into modern 
conditions? The moral principles and lessons of the 
prophecies are eternal, but their immediate application 
and fulfilment are another thing. We are now con¬ 
cerned with the application and actual meaning of the 
predictions of Jesus. 




224> The Kingdom and Coming of Christ 


The known geographical extent of the world in which 
Jesus and His apostles lived was very much more limited 
than the world in which we live. To them, the world 
was all contained within the boundaries of the Roman 
Empire. The language of Jesus would be fully satis¬ 
fied if the gospel were preached throughout the countries 
under tjie rule of the Caesars. The Greek word rendered 
zvorld is oikoumene , derived from oik os , a house, a home. 
It was the word used by the Greeks to describe their 
homeland, as distinguished from the countries beyond 
its borders. Later it was applied to the Roman Em¬ 
pire, which had conquered and absorbed the land of 
the Greeks. It was not until the church began to call 
the Ecumenical councils, formulate its creeds, and issue 
its universal decrees, that the meaning was extended 
to 44 the habitable globe.” 

In the New Testament, it meant the world as then 
known, which was the Roman Empire. It was strictly 
in this sense that Luke used it. He wrote, 44 And it 
came to pass in those days that there went out a decree 
from Caesar Augustus, that all the world ( oikowmenen ) 
should be taxed.” (Luke 2:1.) 

Caesar Augustus was Emperor of Rome. It is very 
evident that his power to tax would be confined to his 
own empire. We are, therefore, forced to the con¬ 
clusion, that in this case the phrase, 44 all the world,” 
was restricted to the homeland of the Romans, or to 
44 our own country,” which is the literal and primary 
meaning of oikoumene. 

44 This gospel of the kingdom was preached in all the 
world (en ole te oikoumene) for a testimony to all the 
Gentiles ” (eio martyrion pasan tots ethnesm). 
Ethnon , of which ethnesin is pi. dative, rendered 
44 nations,” in this text, is the one word used for Gen- 






Jesus Coining Again 


225 


tiles throughout the New Testament. In a few pas¬ 
sages, the proper name Hellenes , Greeks, is rendered 
Gentiles , but this word is never used by the synoptic 
writers, for Gentiles, or nations. In the New Testa¬ 
ment, nations and Gentiles are synonymous. There¬ 
fore, we are only giving the natural and consistent 
meaning when we translate, “ For a testimony to all 
the Gentiles.” 

It is both interesting and illuminating to study the 
extension and development of the kingdom under apos¬ 
tolic preaching. On the day of Pentecost, there were 
at Jerusalem, celebrating the feast, representatives of 
every part of the Roman Empire, of “ all the world,” 
and they all heard the gospel of the kingdom preached 
in their own tongues (Acts 2:9-11) and three thou¬ 
sand were converted and baptized in the name of Jesus 
Christ. (Acts 2:38.) We might stop here and say 
with all truthfulness the prediction is fulfilled, but this 
was only the beginning of the work. How many of 
these Pentecostal converts became witnesses of the gos¬ 
pel in their distant home town, we have no way of 
knowing. But the converted Ethiopian eunuch (Acts 
8: 29-39) carried the glad tidings of the kingdom into 
Africa. Paul mentions going to Spain (Rom. 15:28), 
and it is claimed he visited the British Isles and preached 
the gospel. Some of the early disciples went to Baby¬ 
lon (1 Pet. 5: 13) and farther east. It is also claimed 
that evidences are found in China of Christian mission¬ 
ary work there by Barnabas, the companion of Paul. 
Luke records that at the time of Stephen’s martyrdom, 
a great persecution arose against the church and scat¬ 
tered the disciples. And “ they that were scattered 
abroad went everywhere preaching the gospel.” (Acts 
8: 1-4.) Paul in his epistle to the Romans says, “ Yes 




226 The Kingdom and Coming of Christ 


verily, their sound went into all the earth ( pasan te ge) 
and their words unto the ends of the world ” ( eis perata 
teo oikowmenes). (Romans 10:18.) When writing 
to the Colossians, Paul gave thanks that the gospel 
had come unto them “ even as also in all the world ” 
{en panti to Jcosmo). (Col. 1: 3-6.) Here we have a 
different word for world, Jcosmos , which has a wider 
meaning than the word used by Matthew. As Paul 
proceeded to set forth the superlative principles of the 
gospel, he exhorted the Colossians “ not to be moved 
away from the hope of the gospel, which ye have heard, 
and which was preached to every creature under 
heaven.” (Col. 1:23.) Or, as the Revised Version 
gives it, “ In all creation under heaven.” This is a 
“ Hebraism for the whole human race, and particularly 
referring to the two grand divisions of mankind ” (Dr. 
A. Clark’s Commentary) : the Jews and the Gentiles. 
Thus the Apostles were obedient to the great commis¬ 
sion and went “ into all the world, and preached the 
gospel to every creature.” (Mark 16:15.) Previ¬ 
ously to the destruction of Jerusalem, the gospel was 
not only preached in lesser Asia and Greece and Italy, 
the greatest theatres of the world, but was likewise 
propagated as far north as Scythia, as far south as 
Ethiopia, as far east as Parthia and India, and as far 
west as Spain and Britain.” (Dr. A. Clark on Matt. 
21 : 11 .) 

The disciples had asked for a sign by which they 
might know the time of “ these things ” and of His 
coming. (Matt. 21:3.) This first sign was worked 
out by them. Another sign by which they might know 
that the end had come, was, “ When ye therefore shall 
see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel 




Jesus Coming Again 


227 

the Prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth 
let him understand), then let them which be in Judea 
flee to the mountains.” (Matt. 24:15, 16.) 

Daniel’s predictions of “ the abomination of desola¬ 
tion standing in the holy place ” are found in the ninth, 
eleventh, and twelfth chapters of his prophecy. Vari¬ 
ous schemes of computing the days and weeks of Daniel 
have been adopted to make them work out the time of 
the second coming of Christ. The most notable fact 
about these schemes of reckoning is the general and 
particular manner in which they have been disproved by 
the correcting hand of the passing years. This should 
be sufficient to put on guard all sincere seekers after 
truth. 

The most important feature of this prophecy is not 
the times indicated but the desolating abomination sub¬ 
stituted for the daily sacrifice. (Daniel 9:27; 11:31; 
12:11.) “Reams of conjecture and dubious history 
and imaginative chronology have been expended upon 
the effort to give any interpretation of these precise 
data which can pretend to the dignity of firm and scien¬ 
tific exegesis.” (Expositor’s Bible, p. 431.) As we 
now study prophecy and its fulfilment, we must take 
into consideration the unquestionable facts of history. 
Even in this we must not forget that the dominating 
factor is not the historical events but the moral prin¬ 
ciples and spiritual forces that influence and govern the 
situation. The primary function of the prophets was 
not to foretell future events or disclose the detailed 
plans of God for the government of the world, but to 
teach their own generation the divine will and the oper¬ 
ations of infinite mercy and justice. Therefore, they 
dealt with present conditions and prospects in the light 




228 The Kingdom and Coming of Christ 


of divine revelation, and laid down eternal moral prin¬ 
ciples that would determine future developments. That 
is, the moral conditions that made for weal or woe in 
the nation at the time the prophecies were spoken, will 
make for weal or woe in any and every nation to the end 
of the ages. Moral principles with their penalties and 
blessings are inflexible and irrevocable; they never vary 
in their results. The appeal of Moses in his farewell 
to Israel is the ultimatum of the unchanging God that 
rings clearly and distinctly down through the ages of 
all time. (Deu. 80:15-20.) In thus declaring the 
law r of the Lord they did penetrate the veil of the fu¬ 
ture and foretell coming events. As we have noticed 
above, some of these predictions have more than a single 
fulfilment in the repetitions of history. For instance, 
this prophecy of Daniel concerning the cutting off of 
the daily sacrifice, and the “ abomination that makes 
desolate standing in the place where it ought not ” was 
literally fulfilled by the defilement of the temple under 
Antiochus Epiphanes. The account of the overthrow 
of Jerusalem and the atrocities of this blasphemous king 
of Syria are graphically described in the books of the 
Maccabees. In this account of the actual events, the 
language of Daniel is used. “ Now the fifteenth day 
of the month Casleu, in the hundred and forty and fifth 
year, they set up the abomination of desolation upon 
the altar, and built idol altars throughout Judea on 
every side: and burnt incense at the doors of their 
houses and in the streets.” (1 Maccabees 1: 54, 55.) 

The people of those times, about B.C. 170, consid¬ 
ered this profanation of the temple and the deter¬ 
mined effort of Antiochus Epiphanes to utterly destroy 
the Jewish religion, an exact fulfilment of the prophecy 
of Daniel. It was again fulfilled when the Roman 




Jesu$ Coming Again 


229 


legions under T. Flavius Vespasianus and Titus sur¬ 
rounded Jerusalem in the year 70 A.D. and, true to the 
prediction of Jesus, laid her walls even with the ground, 
and did not leave one stone of the temple upon another. 
The “ abomination of desolation standing in the holy 
place 99 was the pagan Roman ensign that desecrated the 
sanctuary, and the pagan orgies held in the sacred 
courts. This was the sign of the end from which the 
disciples were to take warning and flee to the mountains. 
The attempt of millennialists to picture a fanciful scene 
in the still unknown future when the “ Abomination of 
desolation 99 spoken of by Daniel will stand in the holy 
place in Jerusalem as a sign of the second coming of 
Jesus to set up a millennial kingdom, is not only unwar¬ 
ranted by the text, but perverts the teaching of Jesus 
and sets aside the known facts of history. This sign 
given by Jesus was not to an unknown generation 
that would live on the earth two or more thousand 
years after His time, but to those disciples that had 
questioned Him about “ these things 99 and were hang¬ 
ing on His every word. It was to them He gave the 
warning, “ Then let them which be in Judea flee into 
the mountains.” History tells us that at this siege by 
the Romans, a very remarkable and providential thing 
happened. After the siege had lasted for a consider¬ 
able time, and conditions in the city were becoming un¬ 
endurable, Emperor Nero died, and Vespasianus, the 
general conducting the siege, hastened to Rome to per¬ 
sonally push his aspirations as successor to the im¬ 
perial throne; his son Titus came to complete the work 
and force Jerusalem into subjection. While Titus was 
approaching with his army, Governor Cestius Gallus 
raised the siege and gave the city a few days’ respite. 
The disciples of Jesus, remembering the warning of 




230 The Kingdom and Coming of Christ 


their Lord, improved this opportunity to escape from 
the beleaguered city, and fled in a body for safety to 
the village of Pella, and other places beyond the Jor¬ 
dan. (Dr. Smith’s New Testament History , p. 129.) 
Thus, this destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans 
fulfilled the prophecies of Jesus in every detail, and the 
Holy City and Temple have never been restored. 

The specific cautions against deception by pretended 
Christs are especially set to the times of the apostles 
and immediately following, but they are also applicable 
to all times. They serve as a caution in our day 
against the religious pretenders who dangle before a 
credulous people high pretensions of special divine illu¬ 
mination by which they are able to tell what will be 
hereafter, and outline a detailed eschatological program 
that the infinite God must follow. 

Much stress is laid upon the predictions of “ the 
coming of the Son of Man,” as proof that Jesus is pre¬ 
dicting His second coming, to set up His millennial 
kingdom. There may be involved in this series of pre¬ 
dictions an intimation of the final coming of Jesus to 
judgment; but undoubtedly the immediate coming that 
Jesus was urging, was in connection with the destruc¬ 
tion of Jerusalem and the ending of the Mosaic polity. 

The millennialists cite the passages, “ For as the 
lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto 
the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of Man 
be ” (Matt. 24:27), and also “ Then shall appear also 
the sign of the Son of Man in heaven: then shall the 
tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of 
Man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and 
great glory.” (Matt. 24:30.) This they urge must 
be a personal, bodily coming, or parousia of Jesus, 
which was not at all realized at the destruction of Je- 




Jesus Coming Again 


231 


rusalem. This claim calls for a very careful analysis 
of these passages and their connections. 

A detailed examination of the figures and predictions 
of these passages in the light of parallel scriptures, 
which are unmistakable in their meaning and applica¬ 
tion, is the surest way to determine the meaning of 
Jesus. This the millennialists fail to do. Instead, 
they press upon the language a fanciful meaning, suit¬ 
ing their accepted theory, and then fill in the details 
of an elaborate system of eschatological happenings 
beyond anything that is revealed. 

The question of first importance is, Does the predic¬ 
tion of the coming of the Son of Man in these passages 
refer exclusively, or even remotely, to the so-called sec¬ 
ond coming of Jesus to set up a millennial kingdom? 
Or to state it a little differently, Did these disciples 
to whom Jesus was so seriously and graphically dis¬ 
closing the approaching destruction of Jerusalem un¬ 
derstand Him to be predicting a personal return to 
earth that had nothing to do with that catastrophe, 
and was so many thousand years in the future that it 
could have no possible point of contact with their 
earthly experience and work? The very fact that 
Matthew so closely connects these statements with the 
predicted destruction of Jerusalem, is evidence that the 
disciples understood “ the coming, or parousia , of the 
Son of Man ” in some way to coincide with that great 
catastrophe. The statement, <£ As the lightning cometh 
out of the east and shineth unto the west: so also shall 
the coming of the Son of Man be ” (Matt. 24: 27), is 
figurative and must be interpreted in the light of Bible 
imagery. Dr. Adam Clark’s Commentary says: 

It is worthy of remark that our Lord in the most particu- 




232 The Kingdom and Coming of Christ 


lar manner points out the very march of the Roman Army. 
They entered Judea from the east, and carried on their 
conquest westward, as if not only the extensiveness of the 
ruin, but the very route which the army would take, were 
intended in the comparison of the lightning issuing from the 
east and shining to the west. 

To millennialist interpreters, it may seem very sacri¬ 
legious to suggest that the Son of Man came with the 
Roman Army to besiege Jerusalem, but the commen¬ 
tator, Dr. Adam Clark, was one of the most reverent 
and devout commentators. Furthermore, in the long 
list of premillennialist preachers and commentators 
given in the report of the premillennial convention held 
in Chicago in 1914, Dr. Clark is listed as a premillen- 
narian, which should qualify him for at least a hearing 
as an orthodox interpreter of scripture. 

They say that “ the coming of the Son of Man is 
a parousia, a real presence.” But in the Old Testa¬ 
ment, national judgments and the agency of destruc¬ 
tion are frequently described as “ the presence of the 
Lord.” Therefore, this explanation has the further 
merit of being in harmony with Jewish prophecies and 
apocalyptic writings generally. The destruction of 
Israel’s enemies in the wilderness journey is ascribed to 
the presence of the Lord Jehovah in these strong terms: 
“ The earth shook, the heavens also dropped at the 
presence of God: even Sinai itself was moved at the 
presence of God, the God of Israel.” (Psa. 68:8.) 
Again, “His lightnings enlightened the world: the 
earth saw, and trembled. The hills melted like wax 
at the presence of the Lord, at the presence of the Lord 
of the whole earth.” (Psa. 97 : 4, 5.) 

Isaiah’s prediction of the destruction of Egypt is 
in language almost identical with this prediction of 




Jesus Coming Again 233 

Jesus. “ Behold, the Lord rideth upon a swift cloud, 
and shall come to Egypt.” (Isa. 19:1.) Jeremiah’s 
prediction of the downfall of Judah and Jerusalem 
ascribes the destruction to the presence of the Lord, 
when the armies of Nebuchadnezzar w r ere the agency. 
He says, “ I beheld, and, lo, the fruitful place was a 
wilderness, and all the cities thereof were broken down 
at the presence of the Lord, and by His fierce anger.” 
(Jer. 4 :26.) 

“ But,” we are reminded, “ there is the great tribu¬ 
lation, such as the world never saw.” The premillen- 
nial program divides the time between the coming of 
Christ and the real establishment of the millennial king¬ 
dom into the Rapture and the Revelation, with several 
subdivisions according to the special illumination of the 
individual writer, and fitted into the scheme between 
the church and the millennial kingdom is the tribulation 
of the saints. This is what they usually mean when 
they speak of “ the tribulation.” They turn to the 
tribulation predicted by Jesus to prove their program, 
and assert with an air of triumph that “ there never 
has been a tribulation to fulfil these prophecies.” But 
there is such a very strained appearance about this pro¬ 
gram that it hardly seems natural or even spiritual. 
It makes God appear such an eccentric, arbitrary, and 
autocratic sovereign that it is difficult to see how any 
intelligent person could love and worship such a freak. 
The tribulation of this passage is so linked up with the 
predicted destruction of the Holy City that it cannot 
be dissociated from it by any legitimate rules of exege¬ 
sis. In the warning for the disciples to flee from the 
city when they saw the unmistakable signs of its doom, 
the great reason for the urgency and haste was, “ For 
then shall there be great tribulation, such as was not 




234 The Kingdom and Coming of Christ 


since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor 
ever shall be.” (Matt. 24:21.) Dr. A. Clark says, 
“No history can furnish us with a parallel to the ca¬ 
lamities and miseries of the Jews; rapine, murder, 
famine and pestilence within; fire, and sword and all 
the horrors of war without. Our Lord wept (Luke 
19: 41-44) at the foresight of these calamities; and it 
is almost impossible for any humane person to read the 
relation of them by Josephus without weeping also.” 

“ Immediately after the tribulation of those days, 
shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give 
her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the 
powers of the heavens shall be darkened.” (Matt. 
24:29.) These startling scenes follow immediately 
after the foregoing catastrophes and tribulations, and 
therefore must form a part of the calamities. The 
imagery of these passages is doubtless drawn from the 
Old Testament prophecies. Isaiah describes the pend¬ 
ing destruction of Babylon in the same startling figures, 
only with a little more embellishment. 

Howl ye; for the day of the Lord is at hand; it shall come 
as a destruction from the Almighty. Therefore, shall all 
hands be faint, and every man’s heart shall melt: and they 
shall be afraid; pangs and sorrow shall take hold of them; 
they shall be in pain as a woman that travaileth; they shall 
be amazed one at another; their faces shall be as flames. 
Behold the day of the Lord cometh; cruel both with wrath 
and fierce anger, to lay the land desolate: and he shall 
destroy the sinners thereof out of it. For the stars of 
heaven and the constellation thereof shall not give their 
light; the sun shall be darkened in his going forth, and the 
moon shall not cause her light to shine. (Isa. 13:6-10.) 

Here is the tribulation; the darkened sun, the hidden 
moon, and the fall of the stars, and yet the prophet 





Jesus Coming Again 


235 


was merely predicting the overthrow and destruction of 
Babylon, whose king would first overthrow Jerusalem 
and destroy the Holy Temple. If Isaiah was justified 
in making such use of this poetic imagery, then Jesus 
was perfectly justified in applying it to the destruction 
of Jerusalem by the Romans. But these are not soli¬ 
tary cases. Isaiah uses the same figures in the pre¬ 
dicted destruction of Egypt. (Isa. 19:1.) Ezekiel 
also prophesies against Egypt, saying, 44 And when 
I shall put thee out, I will cover the heaven, and make 
the stars thereof dark; I will cover the sun with a 
cloud, and the moon shall not give her light. All the 
bright lights of heaven will I make dark over thee, and 
set darkness upon thy land.” (Ezek. 32: 7, 8.) When 
Daniel foretold the destruction of Jerusalem by An- 
tiochus Epiphanes, 44 the little horn that waxed exceed¬ 
ing great,” he said, 44 It waxed great even to the host 
of heaven; and it cast down some of the host and of the 
stars to the ground, and stamped upon them.” (Dan. 
8: 10.) No one could for a moment think that any 
king of earth could cast down either the 44 hosts of 
heaven ” or the stars to the earth and stamp upon them. 
There is no reason to think that the darkening of the 
sun and moon and the falling of the stars in the pic¬ 
turesque language of Jesus meant any more than did 
the figures of the major prophets. 

There is one other prediction foretelling these dis¬ 
turbances of the heavenly bodies, which sheds light upon 
our subject, because its application is so definitely made 
under apostolic preaching. The Lord by the mouth of 
the prophet Joel said: 

And it shall come to pass afterwards, that I will pour out 
my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters 




236 The Kingdom and Coming of Christ 


shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, and your 
young men shall see visions: and also upon the servants 
and the handmaidens in those days will I pour out my 
spirit. And I will show wonders in the heavens and in 
the earth, blood and fire and pillars of smoke. The sun 
shall be turned into darkness and the moon into blood, be¬ 
fore the great and terrible day of the Lord come. And it 
shall come to pass that whosoever shall call on the name of 
the Lord shall be delivered: for in Mount Zion, and in 
Jerusalem shall be deliverance, as the Lord hath said, and 
in the remnant whom the Lord shall call. (Joel, 2: 28—32.) 

We pause to inquire diligently the meaning. What 
is this great and notable day of the Lord that will 
so convulse nature, and create these startling won¬ 
ders in earth and heaven? We are led to Luke’s ac¬ 
count of the Day of Pentecost when “ the promise of 
the Father ” (Acts 1:4) was fulfilled and the wait¬ 
ing, praying disciples were baptized with the Holy 
Ghost and with fire. Some of the people in their 
amazement questioned the meaning of this miraculous 
demonstration of divine power. Those who felt that 
they must justify the crucifixion of the Master of these 
devout disciples, and discredit the purity and sincerity 
of their testimony of the reality and power of the resur¬ 
rection of Jesus, charged them with drunkenness. 
“ But Peter standing up with the eleven ” repudiated 
the accusation, and boldly declared, “ This is that which 
was spoken by the prophet Joel, and it shall come to 
pass in the last days saith God, I will pour out my 
spirit upon all flesh.” (Acts 2:1-21.) He quoted 
in full the passage from Joel, detailing the great exer¬ 
tions of divine power, and its startling effects upon 
heaven and earth, even to the darkened sun, the bloody 
moon, and the pillars of fire and smoke. There is no 
intimation that on the day of Pentecost or connected 




Jesus Coming Again 


237 


therewith the physical heavens were so disturbed or 
that this physical earth was so enveloped in fire and 
smoke. We are told that at the crucifixion of Jesus 
seven weeks before, the sun was darkened for the space 
of three hours and there was a great earthquake, 
but there is no evidence that Peter was referring to 
these events. Even these disturbances of nature did 
not come up to the startling commotions of this “ great 
and notable day of the Lord.” This prophetical 
imagery must have a much more religious significance 
than is indicated by any physical disturbances of the 
heavenly bodies. The supreme event of this “ notable 
day of the Lord ” was the outpouring of God’s spirit 
upon the praying disciples and the first preaching of 
the full gospel of salvation from sin through the 
crucified, risen, and exalted Jesus of Nazareth. The 
outstanding promises of the prophecy of Joel and its 
Pentecostal fulfilment are “ The pouring out of the 
Holy Spirit upon all flesh, the prophesying of the sons 
and daughters of Israel,” and the assurance that 
“ Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall 
be saved.” This is purely religious. It is certainly 
reasonable to expect that the minor details, such as 
the darkening of the sun and moon, will agree with the 
major spiritual demonstrations. 

When we group these various prophecies and their 
fulfilment, we are forced to conclude that the language 
is purely figurative, and must have a figurative expla¬ 
nation. We get the key from the apocalyptic writ¬ 
ings and the Rabbinical teaching of the Jews, in which 
the religion is called the heavens, and the civil govern¬ 
ment the earth; also the religious light of the nation is 
represented by the sun, the civil authority by the moon, 
and the teachers and administrators or judges, the 




£38 The Kingdom and Coming of Christ 


stars. In all the great national catastrophes predicted, 
both the civil government and the religion of the con¬ 
quered nation were supplanted by the religion and gov¬ 
ernment of the conquerors. It was not until the Roman 
Empire asserted its rule over Asia, that the people were 
free to practise their national religion without being 
compelled to subscribe to the religion of their overlords. 
In the inauguration of Christianity and the preach¬ 
ing of salvation by Jesus, there was commenced a reli¬ 
gious revolution that would darken the sun not only of 
the pagan religions but also of Judaism, and the civil 
governments would be overthrown. The establish¬ 
ment of the kingdom of heaven on the earth would set 
at naught the religious doctors and civil judges who 
set themselves against Jesus of Nazareth. Thus these 
figurative representations of the eclipses of the sun and 
moon on the day of Pentecost were evidently intended 
to point out the fall of the civil and ecclesiastical states 
of Judea. 

With these facts before us, we return to our Lord’s 
prediction of the destruction of Jerusalem, and con¬ 
clude that He was not describing convulsions and 
eclipses of the physical heavens and earth, but the over¬ 
throw of the civil and religious power of Judaism. The 
comment of Dr. Adam Clark supports this view. He 
says, “ Commentators generally understand this, and 
what follows, of the end of the world and Christ’s com¬ 
ing to judgment ; but the word immediately shows that 
our Lord is not speaking of any distant event, but of 
something immediately consequent on calamities already 
predicted: and that must be the destruction of Jerusa¬ 
lem.” He then quotes the learned Lightfoot, 44 The 
Jewish heaven shall perish, and the sun and moon of 
its glory and happiness shall be darkened — brought 





Jesus Coming Again 


239 


to nothing. The sun is the religion of the church; 
the moon is the government of the state; and the stars 
are the judges and doctors of both.” 

How completely this was carried out in the destruc¬ 
tion of Jerusalem is familiar to every student of his¬ 
tory. The temple with all its religious services, offer¬ 
ings and sacrifices was destroyed, and the Jewish hier¬ 
archy and Mosaic polity were ended, which marked 
“ the end of the world,” or the completion of the age 
under the law. 

The succeeding passages present serious difficulties 
to the ordinary reader. The millennialist interpreters 
work these passages industriously to prove their the¬ 
ories. The statements are, “ Then shall appear the 
sign of the Son of Man in heaven: and then shall all 
the tribes of the earth mourn; and they shall see the 
Son of Man coming in the clouds of heaven with power 
and great glory. And He shall send His angels with a 
great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather to¬ 
gether His elect from the four winds, and from one end 
of heaven to the other.” (Matt. 24: 30, 31.) 

We are still dealing with the prophetical figures of 
the Old Testament and the poetical imagery of apoc¬ 
alypse. “ All the tribes of the earth ” is clearly a 
Hebraism for all the Jews. It does not mean “ all the 
nations of the earth.” The original language is, pasa 
ai phylai tes ges , literally, “ all the tribes of the land.” 
0 ge> the land , was the common idiom for the land of 
Israel, “ the tribes of the land ” were the tribes of Israel. 
It is true that 0 ge in Greek means the earth in general, 
but it is also used in a restricted sense for the land , and 
is frequently used to mean a small section. The ex¬ 
pression before us has its counterpart in the prophecy 
of Zechariah. “ In that day there shall be a great 




240 The Kingdom and Coming of Christ 


mourning in Jerusalem, . . . and the land shall mourn 
every family apart.” (Zech. 12:11, 12.) The land 
here certainly means the land of Israel . i6 Then shall 
appear the sign of the Son of Man in heaven.” “ The 
plain meaning of this is, that the destruction of Jerusa¬ 
lem will be such a remarkable instance of divine venge¬ 
ance, such a signal manifestation of Christ’s power and 
glory, that all the Jewish tribes shall mourn, and many 
will, in consequence of this manifestation of God, be led 
to acknowledge Christ and his religion,.” (Dr. [A. 
Clark’s Commentary.) 

“ They shall see the Son of Man coming in the clouds 
of heaven with power and great glory.” Our thought 
is here turned back to Daniel’s vision of the four beasts 
that came out of the troubled sea, and the one “ like 
unto the Son of Man who came with the clouds of 
heaven, and came to the Ancient of Days” (Dan. 7: 
13), when the judgment was set and the books were 
opened. 

Who that is guided by the mere words would doubt that 
this is a description of the final judgment? And yet noth¬ 
ing is clearer than that it is not, but a description of a 
vast temporal judgment, upon organized bodies of men, for 
their incurable hostility to the kingdom of God on earth. 

. . . Comparing this with our Lord's words, He seems to 
us by “ the Son of man coming in the clouds with power 
and great glory,” to mean, that when judicial vengeance 
shall once have been executed upon Jerusalem, and the 
ground thus cleared for the unobstructed establishment of 
His own kingdom, His true regal claims shall be visibly 
and gloriously asserted and manifested. See on Luke 
9:28 in which nearly the same language is employed, and 
where it can hardly be understood of anything else than 
the full establishment of the kingdom of Christ on the 
destruction of Jerusalem. (Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown, 
Commentary , Mark 13:26.) 




Jesus Coming Again 


241 


The figure of the Lord coming in the clouds of 
heaven was very familiar to the Jews, who would not 
be so grievously misled by it, as are many modern 
Christians. The Lord frequently appeared “ unto 
Israel in a cloud.” (Ex. 14:19, 20, and 24:15-18.) 
The psalmist sang, “ The Lord rode upon a cherub, 
and did fly: yea, He did fly upon the wings of the wind 
. . . and brightness was before Him and thick clouds 
passed . . . and round about Him were thick clouds 
of the skies.” (Psalm 18:10—12.) This was David’s 
poetic rejoicing and thanksgiving with which he cele¬ 
brated his signal victory over the Philistines. The 
prophecy of Egypt’s destruction is, “ Behold, the Lord 
rideth upon a swift cloud and shall come to Egypt: 
and the idols shall be moved at His presence.” (Isa. 
19:1.) This language has a striking similarity to 
Jesus’ prediction of the parousia in the clouds of 
heaven. One is therefore in perfect harmony with the 
poetical and prophetical language of the Scriptures 
when he accepts the prediction of Jesus as a figurative 
description of a great national catastrophe,— a politi¬ 
cal and religious revolution connected with the destruc¬ 
tion of Jerusalem and the overthrow of the temple. 

But, we are asked, in great surprise, “ What about 
the angels sent forth with a great sound of a trumpet 
to gather the elect from the four winds, from one end 
of heaven to the other? ” (Matt. 24: 31.) This, they 
urge, is surely the coming of the angels with the trumpet 
of God at the last day. While, like all prophecies, 
this may have a double meaning, one more immediate, 
dealing with present conditions and pending events; 
and one more remote reaching into the indefinite future; 
we are now concerned as were the anxious disciples, 
with its immediate meaning and application. Every 




242 The Kingdom and Coming of Christ 


Greek student is fully aware that the word angel , 
Greek, angelos, simply means a messenger of any kind. 
As used in the New Testament it is not necessarily a 
heavenly or divine messenger. Paul called his trouble¬ 
some thorn in the flesh an angel of Satan, Angelos 
Satan. (2 Cor. 12:7.) James calls the spies whom 
Rahab hid by faith, the angels, tons angelous. (James 
2:25.) Malachi’s prediction of John the Baptist as 
quoted by Jesus is, “Behold I send my angel ( ton 
angelon mou) before my face.” (Mai. 3:1; Matt. 11: 
12; Mark 1:2; Luke 7:27.) Luke also calls the dis¬ 
ciples of John angels, saying, “ And when the angels 
(angelon ) of John departed.” (Luke 7:24.) The 
disciples of Jesus were also called angels. “ Jesus 
steadfastly set His face to go to Jerusalem, and sent 
His angels ( angelous ) before His face.” (Luke 9: 
51, 52.) It is, therefore, perfectly legitimate to take 
angels in our passage to mean the disciples of Jesus 
who were sent into all the world to make disciples of all 
nations. The preaching of the gospel was the trumpet 
call to repentance and peace with God. It was by this 
divine summons that the elect from the four winds were 
gathered into the kingdom of heaven. How like the 
appeal of Isaiah, “ Cry aloud, spare not, lift up thy 
voice like a trumpet, and show my people their trans¬ 
gression and the house of Jacob their sins.” (Isa. 
58 :1.) Thus the meaning of our text would be, “ He 
shall send His angels or messengers, His apostles and 
their successors in the ministry, with a great sounding 
trumpet , the earnest, affectionate call of the gospel of 
peace, life, and salvation.” (Dr. A. Clark’s Commen¬ 
tary.) This was done before the destruction of Je¬ 
rusalem, and converts were gathered into the kingdom 
of God from the four winds of heaven. There is, there- 





Jesus Coming Again 


243 


fore, no reason why this passage should not be inter¬ 
preted in harmony with all that precedes it in this 
wonderful prediction. These events were to be 44 im¬ 
mediately after the tribulation of those days,” which 
forbids their postponement for thousands of years. 
The original word evltheos , from eulthus , means 
straightway , forthwith , at once; and no amount of 
sophistry can stretch it to mean events which are yet 
in the unknown future. On the other hand, all pro¬ 
phetic language and the history of the times point to 
the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans as the 
great judgment predicted. 

This interpretation receives more decisive confirma¬ 
tion from the statement, 44 Verily I say unto you, This 
generation shall not pass until all these things be ful¬ 
filled.” (Matt. 24:34.) The millennialists endeavor 
to dispose of this by arguing that “ generation means 
race” and the Jewish race has not passed away but has 
been providentially preserved as a distinct people 
throughout the passing centuries, and, therefore, this 
passage is proof that these predictions are yet unful¬ 
filled. This, however, is a frail thread upon which to 
hang such a ponderous theory as the millennial reign. 
The prediction is, 44 This generation shall not pass 
away until all these things be fulfilled.” If generation 
be taken in this wider sense, it would not prove that 
44 these things ” were not the destruction of Jerusalem 
with all the accompanying calamities. The statement 
is not that the Jewish race will pass away when 44 all 
these things are fulfilled.” Whatever may, or may not, 
be the future of the Jewish race, there are some things 
that are placed beyond the limits of speculation, and 
one of them is that the kingdom of God is not built 
upon racial lines. 44 God is no respecter of persons, 




244 The Kingdom and Coming of Christ 


but in every nation he that feareth God and worketh 
righteousness is accepted of Him.” (Acts 10: 64, 65.) 

Again, we learn from history that “ all these 
things ” were fulfilled in the time of the generation living 
when Jesus uttered these prophecies from Mount Olivet. 
Finally, generation (Greek genea ) meant to those dis¬ 
ciples what it means to us, the span of human life. 
“ This generation ” meant the people then living. If 
a more extended meaning had been intended, certainly a 
qualifying adjective indicating the fact would have 
been used. The demonstrative this confines the appli¬ 
cation to the people then living. Just before leaving 
the temple on that momentous day, Jesus said, “ Verily 
I say unto you, All these things shall come upon this 
generation.” (Matt. 26:26.) He was pronouncing 
immediate judgment upon the “ Scribes, Pharisees, 
hypocrites.” If He had meant that these woes would 
come upon the descendants of these people thousands 
of years hence, what force would His denunciations 
have for those who were listening? But He fixed the 
application to the people He was addressing by His 
apostrophe, “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem,” and foretold 
its utter destruction which took place only forty years 
afterward. On a previous occasion, Jesus said to His 
disciples, “ Verily I say unto you, there be some stand¬ 
ing here that shall not see death until they see the Son 
of Man coming in His kingdom.” (Matt. 16:28; 
Mark 9:1; Lke 9: 27.) This statement presents very 
peculiar difficulties to the millennial interpreters. If 
“ the coming of the Son of Man in His kingdom ” is 
still future, how could Jesus say “ there are some stand¬ 
ing here who shall not see death until they see the Son 
of Man coming in His kingdom ” ? 

One of the outstanding premillennial authorities says: 




Jesus Coming Again 


245 


We believe the word till more than intimates that 
* some ” should taste of death, and that, therefore, natural 
death, or separation of body and soul, is meant. But now 
let us mark well what the some standing there were to see, 
and then let us go up the Mount of Transfiguration, and 
gaze through the favored eyes of Peter, James, and John 
upon the scene which is recorded immediately after the 
passage we are considering. . . . We cannot tell how much 
of the future they saw in that enraptured hour, but doubt¬ 
less they had a specific vision of the coming of our Lord 
Jesus Christ in His kingdom and glory. (Jesus Is Com¬ 
ing, W. E. B., page 139.) 

This is a very significant admission that it was pos¬ 
sible for those standing with Jesus to see “ the Son of 
Man coming in His kingdom.” If they saw it on the 
Mount of Transfiguration, they might also have seen 
a fuller manifestation on the Day of Pentecost when 
the power and glory of the kingdom were revealed in 
the salvation of thousands; and further when the Gen¬ 
tiles were received into the kingdom on an equality 
with the Jews, but more especially in the portents and 
calamities accompanying the destruction of Jerusalem, 
and the passing away of the Jewish hierarchy and tem¬ 
ple worship. In any case, these great events were to 
come to pass within the time of people then living who 
would see the fulfilment and be living witnesses of these 
things. 

The parabolic illustrations which conclude the ad¬ 
dress and urge the necessity of fidelity and persistent 
watchfulness are of a general character and apply with 
equal force to the imminent calamity of the Jewish na¬ 
tion and church, the final judgment, or the approach 
of death unto all men. But we confidently affirm that 
having carefully examined these predictions, we fail 
to find one word to indicate the bodily coming again of 




246 The Kingdom and Coming of Christ 


Jesus to rule the world in person for a thousand years; 
but, on the contrary, that Jesus was even then pro¬ 
nouncing judgment upon the faithless Jewish nation 
and predicting its utter destruction. 

4. The Testimony of Revelation 

The Book of Revelation is a happy hunting ground 
for all sorts of eschatological theories. It is a strange 
congeries of Hebrew apocalyptic imagery that is quite 
foreign to our modern mode of thought. Some take it 
as an outline of the leading political and religious events 
of the world from the beginning of the Christian era 
to the end of time. But while they claim to be able to 
decipher this outline, and show what predictions have 
been fulfilled, and exactly what will happen in the fu¬ 
ture, it is difficult to find two interpreters of outstand¬ 
ing reputation who agree upon the detailed meaning 
of the book. The most reasonable view of Revelation 
is that it deals with the prevailing conditions and pend¬ 
ing disasters of the times in which the writer was living. 
In common with all other parts of the Bible, it sets 
forth the moral and religious principles and forces in 
their great conflict with evil, and ascribes ultimate and 
absolute victory unto Christ Jesus, and all who trust 
in Him as Lord and Saviour. Thus it treats of sin, 
of righteousness, and of judgment to come; but the 
great calamities foretold were pending when the Reve¬ 
lation was given. 

The prologue of the book is “ The Revelation of 
Jesus Christ, which God gave unto Him to shew unto 
His servants the things which must shortly come to 
pass.” (Rev. 1:1.) It is, therefore, not a revelation 
of things that are to come to pass in the far distant fu¬ 
ture, but that are to come to pass immediately. The 




Jesus Coming Again 


247 


word translated shortly is en tachei, quickly, right 
away. Scenes were even then opening upon the people 
to whom the apostles were writing. Lest there might be 
a mistake regarding the immediateness of the fulfilment 
of these predictions, John puts his warning of near 
danger in the form of a blessing upon those who read 
and obey the precepts written, saying, “ Blessed is he 
that readeth, and they that hear the words of this 
prophecy, and keep those things that are written 
therein: for the time is at hand.” (Rev. 1:3.) Thus 
the closing warning of the prologue uses a different 
word to impress upon those who read and those who 
hear the words of this prophecy, that the time was 
right upon them, and therefore it was imperative for 
them “ to keep the things that are written in it.” The 
word is from engizo, and means close at hand, hard by. 
This is the word used both by John the Baptist and 
Jesus in their first announcement of the gospel message 
to urge the imperative reason for repentance, saying, 
“Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand,” 
engiken; literally, has drawn near. (Matt. 3:2; 
4: 17.) Millennialists experience much difficulty in ex¬ 
plaining away this unquestionable meaning. They say 
that, although nearly two thousand years have passed 
and the millennial kingdom has not come, yet the dis¬ 
ciples were to expect it to come in their day, every 
generation since has been called upon to live in the 
expectation of the immediate coming of Christ, and 
therefore we today are to take it for granted that the 
time is right on us, and we should momentarily expect 
the coming of the Lord. This, however, is simply tri¬ 
fling with language to make it suit the exigencies of a 
theory exploded long ago by the passing of time. It 
is most erroneous to talk of an event being “ at hand ” 




248 The Kingdom and Coming of Christ 


engiken , nearly two thousand years ago, and still re¬ 
maining in the indefinite and unknown future. One 
millennialist writer impressed with the strain this the¬ 
ory puts upon intelligence attempts to find another 
way out of the difficulty. He says, 44 The kingdom did 
come 4 nigh ’ when Christ came, and had they received 
Him, it would have been manifested, but now it is in 
abeyance, or waiting till He comes again.” Ap¬ 
parently conscious of the fact that this will not meet 
the demands of his theory of a millennial kingdom, he 
appends this explanation, 44 However the Greek word 
engizo which is translated at hand in Matt. 3: 2 and 
4 :17, and is come nigli in Luke 10:9—11, does not 
necessarily mean immediately near. For we find the 
same word used in Rom. 13: 12. 4 The day is at hand,’ 

and in Heb. 10:25 as 4 ye see the day approaching,’ 
and in James 5:8, 4 The coming of the Lord draweth 
nigh,’ and in 1 Pet. 4:7, 4 The end of all things is at 
hand,’ each of which passages are yet unfulfilled. 

44 So we see that the word engizo (is at hand) covers 
a period of more than 1800 years, and reaches unto 
the second coming of Christ.” ( Jesus is Coming , 
W. E. B., page 88.) 

But does this author’s quotations confirm his defini¬ 
tion of the word? When the Apostles used this word 
did they think that the time before them was thousands 
of years distant? Is not the very fact that they said 
44 the time is at hand ” ( engus, engizo ) proof positive 
that they expected it to be fulfilled within their life¬ 
time ? 

The clear evidence is that to the Apostles the word 
engizo meant the time was right near, and the day 
would be realized by them. 

John claimed to have received a definite and full 




Jesus Coming Again 


249 


revelation from the glorified Jesus, which he was to 
“ write in a book, and send to the seven churches 
which are in Asia.” (Rev. 1:11.) Therefore, the 
Revelation was for a specific purpose and a special time, 
to a group of churches that were facing peculiar 
trials and difficulties. This great congeries of start¬ 
ling events depicted in the most marvellous imagery 
of the Jewish apocalyptic writings were “ shortly to 
come to pass.” Not only does the book open with the 
repeated warnings of the immediate approach of the 
things written, but it closes with the same warnings. 
In the last chapter we read, “ These sayings are faith¬ 
ful and true: and the Lord God sent His angels to show 
unto His servants the things that must shortly he 
done.” (Rev. 22:6.) And again, “ Seal not the say¬ 
ings of the prophecy of this book: for the time is at 
hand” (Rev. 22:10.) And finally, “ He which tes- 
tifieth these things saith surely, / come quickly.” 
(Rev. 22:20.) Greek tachus , with speed , right away. 
This language certainly cannot mean, “ Surely I come 
several thousand years hence.” It is very evident that 
the revelation depicts pending catastrophes. 

The word revelation is in harmony with this interpreta¬ 
tion, for it means taking away the veil, and making known. 
It is here the revelation given by Jesus to His apostle to 
show the things that must shortly come to pass. It is 
clear, therefore, at the very beginning that John is waiting, 
not for things in the remote future, but what was then 
happening, and what he expected would very soon happen 
to the people of that time. There is no justification for 
the attempt so often made to apply the details of the vision 
in this book to the events of modern times. (Prof. J. F. 
McLaughlin, Victoria University, Toronto, Ont., in The 
Bible Class Monthly, Dec., 1916.) 

The exact explanation of all the events portrayed in 




250 The Kingdom and Coming of Christ 


the imagery of this book is very difficult to obtain. 1 
There are many divergent opinions even in regard to 
the time when this revelation was given. The range 
of time is between 69 A. D. and 96 A. D. If the later 
dates are accepted, the destruction of Jerusalem, and 
the complete abolition of the Mosaic polity w r ere ac¬ 
complished facts, and do not come within the purview 
of these visions. It is very evident, however, that they 
are concerned primarily and immediately with the great 
persecutions and religious disturbances of the times, 
and the political upheavals in the nations of the world. 

Many of the most renowned Biblical scholars, both 
ancient and modern, fix the date of John’s banishment 
to Patmos at about 69 A. D. in the midst of the fear¬ 
ful persecution of the Christians by the perfidious Em¬ 
peror Nero. The inscription to the Syriac Version, 
published in the London Polyglot Bible, reads: “ The 

Revelation which God gave John the Evangelist, in the 
Isles of Patmos, to which he was banished by Nero- 
Csssar.” This would place the Revelation just before 
the destruction of Jerusalem, or while the Roman Le¬ 
gions were gathering for the great siege. Therefore, 
“ the time is at hand,” would refer to this time of 
catastrophe and judgment. “ The things that must 
shortly be done,” would be the destruction of the Holy 
City and its temple, with the complete abolition of the 
Jewish sacrifices and the Mosaic economy. Also, the 
downfall of that Babylon of iniquity and persecutor of 
the saints, the Roman Empire, that was responsible for 
the horrors connected with the siege of Jerusalem. 

The heavens and the earth were passing away, and 
a new heaven and a new earth were taking their place. 

There are internal evidences that favor this early 

i See Chapter, The Millennial Reign. 




Jesus Coming Again 


251 


date and indicate that the great upheaval immediately 
before John was the destruction of Jerusalem and the 
final breaking up of the Jewish nation and church. 
The first fact that presses upon us is that John uses 
practically the same figures and expressions Jesus used 
in His prediction of the destruction of Jerusalem. 
Take, for instance, this passage in the first chapter: 
“ Behold, He cometh with clouds; and every eye shall 
see Him, and they also which pierced Him; and all 
kindreds of the earth shall wail because of Him.” 
(Rev. 1:7.) In our examination of the twenty-fourth 
chapter of Matthew, we showed the Biblical meaning of 
the expression, “ coming with the clouds.” It is the 
poetical form to describe the divine presence in great 
manifestations of supernatural power. The phrase, 
“ All kindreds of the earth,” generally taken to mean, 
“ all the people of this world,” is pasai ai phulai tes 
ges — the same phrase as used in Matthew 24: 30, and 
is literally “ all the tribes of the land,” the common way 
of designating all the Jews or tribes of Israel. The de¬ 
struction of their capital city and their beloved temple 
was a great cause of mourning among all the Jews. 
At the time of this great catastrophe there were still 
living some of those who consented to the crucifixion of 
Jesus, and who saw the wonderful phenomena that is 
reported by Josephus and others in connection with the 
Roman siege. 

The revelations made by opening the seals evidently 
concerned both the destruction of Jerusalem and the 
downfall of the Roman Empire. (Chap. 6.) The cry 
of the waiting souls under the altar of the fifth seal 
is against the persecuting Jews. (Verses 9, 10.) 
“ They that dwell on the earth,” is ton katoikownton 
epi tes ges , literally, “ those that dwell in the land ”— 





252 The Kingdom and Coming of Christ 


a familiar Hebraism for the Jews of Palestine. Dr. 
Adam Clark observed: 

If this book was written before the destruction of Jeru¬ 
salem, as is most likely, then this destruction is that which 
was to fall upon the Jews; and the little time or season 
was that which elapsed between their martyrdom, or the 
date of this book and the final destruction of Jerusalem 
under the Romans. 

The opening of the sixth seal revealed the overthrow 
of the Roman Empire and the destruction of its pagan 
religion and government. 

And the sun became as black as sackcloth of hair, and the 
moon became as blood; and the stars of heaven fell unto 
the earth . . . and the heaven departed as a scroll when 
it is rolled together . . . and the kings of the mighty men, 
and every bondman and every free man hid themselves in 
the dens and in the rocks of the mountains. (Verses 12- 
15.) 

The figures of this imposing passage have become 
familiar to us in our study of the Old Testament 
prophecies and the predicted fall of Jerusalem. They 
do not indicate a disturbance of the physical heavenly 
bodies, but the overthrow of national religions and 
governments in the great political upheavals of the 
world. Here they are taken b}^ eminent scholars to 
indicate primarily the collapse of the religious and 
civil systems of Imperial Rome. 

Dr. Adam Clark, after commenting on this chapter, 
verse by verse, in line with this conception, appends 
this illuminating summary, containing an extended quo¬ 
tation from the great Dr. Dodd. He says: 

Though I do not pretend to say that my remarks on this 




Jesus Coming Again 


25S 


chapter point out its true significance, yet I find others 
have applied it in the same way. Dr. Dodd observes that 
the fall of Babylon, Idumea, Judah, Egypt, and Jerusalem 
has been described by the prophets in language equally 
pompous, figurative, and strong. See Isa. 13:10, 34:4 
concerning Babylon and Idumea; Jer. 4: 23, 24 concerning 
Judah; Ezek. 32:7 concerning Egypt; Joel 2: 10, 31 con¬ 
cerning Jerusalem; our Lord Himself, Matt. 24: 29, con¬ 
cerning the same city. “ Now,” says he, “ it is certain 
that the fall of any of these cities or kingdoms was not of 
greater concern or consequence to the world, nor more 
deserving to be described in pompous figures than the fall 
of the pagan Roman Empire, when the great lights of the 
heathen world, the sun, moon and stars, the powers civil 
and ecclesiastical, were all eclipsed and obscured, the 
heathen emperors and Caesars were slain, the heathen 
priests and augurs were extirpated, the heathen officers 
and magistrates were removed, the temples were demol¬ 
ished, and their revenues were devoted to better uses. It 
is customary with the prophets, after they have described 
a thing in the most symbolical and figurative manner, to 
represent the same again in plainer language, and the same 
method is observed here, ver. 15, 16, 17: And the lcings> 
of the earth, etc. That is, Maximin, Galerius, Maxentius, 
Licinius, etc., with all their adherents and followers, were 
so routed and dispersed that they hid themselves in dens, 
— expressions used to denote the utmost terror and confu¬ 
sion. This is, therefore, a triumph of Christ over His 
heathen enemies, and a triumph after a severe punishment: 
so that the time and all the circumstances, as well as the se¬ 
ries and order of the prophecy, agree perfectly with this in¬ 
terpretation. Galerius, Maximin, and Licinius, made even 
a public confession of their guilt, recalled their decrees and 
edicts against Christians, and acknowledged the just judg¬ 
ments of Christ in their own destruction. (Dr. A. Clark’s 
Commentary, Rev. 6.) 

The Rev. Dr. Milligan, in his excellent exposition of 
the Book of Revelation, sees in this sixth seal not only 
the predicted downfall of pagan Rome, but the over- 





£54 The Kingdom and Coming of Christ 


throw of all evil systems that set themselves against 
the Lord and His anointed. Thus the eternal princi¬ 
ples of the government of God are seen in their ir¬ 
revocable operation against all evil, and for the pro¬ 
motion of all good. We cannot do better than give in 
full this admirable exposition. 

Highly coloured as the language used under the sixth 
seal may appear to us, to the Jew, animated by the spirit 
of the Old Testament, it was simply that in which he had 
been accustomed to express his expectations of any new 
dispensation of the Almighty, of any striking crisis in the 
history of the world. Whenever he thought of the Judge of 
all the earth as manifesting Himself in a greater than 
ordinary degree, and as manifesting Himself in that truth 
and righteousness which was the glorious distinction of His 
character, he took advantage of such figures as we now have 
before us. To the fall of Jerusalem, therefore, to every 
great crisis in human history, and to the close of all, they 
may be fittingly applied. In the eloquent language of Dr. 
Vaughan, “ These words are wonderful in all senses, not 
least in this sense: that they are manifold in their accom¬ 
plishment. Wherever there is a little flock in a waste 
wilderness; wherever there is a church in a world; wherever 
there is a power of unbelief, ungodliness, and violence, 
throwing itself upon Christ’s faith and Christ’s people and 
seeking to overbear, and to demolish, and to destroy; 
whether that power be the power of Jewish bigotry and 
fanaticism, as in the days of the first disciples; or of pagan 
Rome, with its idolatries and its cruelties, in the days of 
St. John; or of papal Rome, with its lying wonders and its 
anti-Christian assumptions, in ages later still; or of open 
and rampant atheism, as in the days of the first French 
Revolution; or of a subtler and more insidious infidelity 
like that which is threatening now to deceive, if it were 
possible, the very elect; wherever and whatever this power 
may be — and it has had a thousand forms, and may be 
destined yet to assume a thousand more — then, in each 
successive century, the words of Christ to His first disci¬ 
ples adapt themselves afresh to the circumstances of His 




Jesus Coming Again 


255 


struggling servants; warn them of danger; exhort them to 
patience, arouse them to hope, assure them of victory; tell 
of a near end for an individual and for a generation; tell 
also of a far end, not forever to be postponed, for time 
itself and for the world; predict a destruction which shall 
befall each enemy of the truth, and predict a destruction 
which shall befall the enemy himself whom each in turn 
has represented and served; explain the meaning of tribu¬ 
lation, show whence it comes, and point to its swallowing 
up in glory; reveal the moving hand above, and disclose, 
from behind the cloud which conceals it, the clear, definite 
purpose and the unchanging, loving will. Thus under¬ 
stood, each separate downfall of evil becomes a prophecy 
of the next and of the last; and the partial fulfilment of 
our Lord’s words in the destruction of Jerusalem, or of St. 
John’s words in the downfall of idolatry and the dismem¬ 
berment of Rome, becomes itself in turn a new warrant for 
the Church’s expectation of the Second Advent and of the 
day of Judgment.” ( Expositor’s Bible, Rev. chapter 6.) 

The seventh seal reveals the divine consolations for 
the saints and the glorious victory of the Church of 
Christ over all enemies. The seven trumpets and the 
vision of the bowls are occupied with the same exalted 
themes of the overthrow of iniquity and the conquests 
of the kingdom of heaven. Even the great Armaged¬ 
don (Rev. 16: 16), so much talked of, is a description 
of the great conflict of spiritual forces in the world 
of men. “ The spirits of the devils 99 warring against 
the saints of God, and mobilizing “ the kings of the 
earth ” in moral opposition to God and His Christ. 

The symbolic times and numbers of the Revelation 
have similar application to the times and events that 
were before St. John, and indicate men, kingdoms, 
events, and seasons connected with the great world up¬ 
heavals of his time and immediately after. 

For instance, the number of the beast, 666 (Rev. 13: 




256 The Kingdom and Coming of Christ 


18), that has formed the basis of so much conjecture, 
and which an ingenious mathematician has worked out 
to spell Kaiser. That number has done service as a 
brand for various religious and civil despots who have 
terrorized their fellows. It is evident, however, that the 
beast John saw came historically nearer to him than the 
Kaiser. As a matter of fact, the number has been 
worked out to spell the Roman Empire under the perse¬ 
cutions of which John was suffering banishment “ for 
the word of God, and the testimony of Jesus Christ.” 
(Rev. 1:9.) 

It is worked out after this fashion. Previous to the 
invention of figures by the Arabs in the tenth century, 
letters of the alphabet were used for numbers. The 
Greeks assigned to their letters a numerical value corre¬ 
sponding to their order in the alphabet. The Romans 
followed the same practice. The following is the Greek 
alphabet, with the English equivalents and the nu¬ 
merical value attached to each letter according to the 
generally received system: 


Alpha . 

.a . 

1 

Nu . 

. . .n . 

50 

Beta . . 

. b . 

2 

Xi . 


60 

Gamma 

.g. 

3 

Omicron . 

. ..short o.. 

70 

Delta . 

.d . 

4 

Pi . 

• • -P . 

80 

Epsilon 

. e . 

5 

Rho. 


100 

Zeta . .. 

.z . 

7 

Sigma . . . 


200 

Eta . .. 

. Iona: e . . 

8 

T an . 

. . . t . 

300 

Theta . 

.th . 

9 

Upsilon . 

. . .u . 

400 

Iota . .. 

. i . 

10 

Phi . 

. ..ph . 

500 

Kappa 

. k . 

20 

Chi . 

...eh . 

600 

Lambda 

... .1 . 

30 

Psi . 

•••PS . 

700 

Mu ... 


40 

Omega . . 


800 


This method of representing numbers by letters of 
the alphabet gave rise to a practice among the an- 
































Jesus Coming Again 


257 


cients of representing names also by numbers. Exam¬ 
ples of this kind abound in the writing of heathens, 
Jews, and Christians. This was clearly the custom in 
the apostolic age. The common designation of the 
Roman Empire, which then ruled the world, was The 
Latin Kingdom, which put in Greek is e (long) latine 
basileia. Give this its numerical value and it works out 
thus: 

Eta .e 

Lamba.1 

Alpha . a 

Tau .t 

Iota .i 

Nu.n 

Eta .e 


The 


30 

1 

300 

10 

50 

8 


Latin 


Beta . . 
Alpha . 
Sigma . 
Iota . . . 
Lambda 
Epsilon 
Iota . . . 
Alpha . 


b 


a 

s 

i 


1 


e 


a 


2 

1 

200 

10 

30 

5 


Kingdom 


10 

1 


666 


Then the number of the Latin Kingdom or Roman 
Empire is 666. No other kingdom on earth can be 
found to contain that number. The beast of this chap¬ 
ter is plainly intended to represent a kingdom after the 
manner of Daniel from which St. John so largely draws 
his imagery. All the descriptions of the blasphemy 
and persecution of this beast identifies it with the Ro¬ 
man Empire. As the number of the beast, 666, spells 






























258 The Kingdom and Coming of Christ 

out the Latin Kingdom or the Roman Empire, the 
identity seems complete. It may be objected that the 
number of the beast was the number of a man, and 
therefore the beast must be a man. But every kingdom 
has its representative man or king in which is vested 
all the authority and power of the kingdom. The 
king and his kingdom, particularly under the ancient 
autocracies, were one. Therefore, the number of the 
Latin kingdom, 666, would be the number of the blas¬ 
phemous persecutor, the Roman Caesar. Some difficul¬ 
ties may be experienced in harmonizing all the details 
of this part of the vision with this interpretation. But 
this may be due more to our ignorance of the details of 
the actual facts of the times, religious and political 
upheavals, and sufferings of the saints under the pagan 
religion and false prophets, than to any defect in 
the interpretation itself. It has, at least, the merit 
of being consistent with the general scope and imagery 
of the book and is far more reasonable than any other 
theory that has been propounded. 

We have made no attempt to give a full exposition 
of this enigmatical book, neither do we undertake to 
dogmatize on the suggested interpretations we have 
offered. These have been set forth to show that the 
fanciful predictions based upon these revelations are 
not supported by the plain statements contained 
therein. The outstanding rule of exegesis must be ad¬ 
hered to, namely, that the figurative and obscure pas¬ 
sages of scripture must be interpreted in harmony with 
those which are plain and literal statements of fact. 
This we have assiduously followed, and find much that is 
distinctly at variance with premillennialism. We can¬ 
not find anything in harmony with sound exposition 
that lends any weight to the theory of a bodily mil- 





Jesus Coming Again 


259 


lennial reign of Jesus on earth. Throughout the New 
Testament, the gospel of Jesus is the saving power 
of the world, and there is no statement to the effect 
that the gospel is inadequate for the conversion of the 
world, and that a new dispensation of saving power 
must be brought in before the 44 kingdoms of this world 
will become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His 
Christ.” 

The last chapter of Revelation opens with the vis¬ 
ion of 44 the pure river of the water of life, clear as 
crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and 
of the Lamb, and the tree of life, the leaves of which 
are for the healing of the nations.” (Rev. 22:1, 2.) 
Jesus likened the saving power of grace under the gos¬ 
pel to living water. To the woman at the well He said, 
44 Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again: 
but whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give 
him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give 
him shall be in him a well of water springing up into 
everlasting life.” (John 4: 13, 14.) This figure of 
the water of salvation is taken from the prophets. 
Isaiah said, 44 Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, 
and not be afraid: for the Lord Jehovah is my strength 
and my song and is become my salvation. Therefore, 
with joy shall I draw water from the wells of salva¬ 
tion.” (Isa. 12: 2, 3.) 44 Ho, every one that thirsteth, 

come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money; 
come ye, buy, and eat.” (Isa. 55:1.) The Bible 
closes with the great and universal appeal, 44 And the 
Spirit and the bride say, 4 Come. 5 And let him that 
heareth say, 4 Come.’ And let him that is athirst, 
Come. And whosoever will, let him take of the water 
of life freely.” (Rev. 22:17.) All who respond to 
this appeal and drink of the living waters, will get such 




260 The Kingdom and Coming of Christ 


an experience of the saving power of God’s grace, as 
will satisfy his soul with peace and joy. By the flow¬ 
ing forth of this crystal pure water out of the throne 
of God and the Lamb the nations will be saved and 
healed. 

5. Epistolary Testimony 

Chronological^, the study of the apostolic epistles 
would precede that of Revelation; but we are not so 
particular about chronology as we are of the scriptural 
teaching of the kingdom of God in its relation to the 
return of Jesus. The Book of Revelation, packed full 
as it is, with the prophetic imagery of the prophecies 
of Ezekiel and Daniel, and being so closely connected 
with Christ’s predictions of the destruction of Jerusa¬ 
lem, naturally follows the study of these predictions. 
The principal reason for adopting this order in our 
review of the scriptural teaching of the coming again 
of Jesus, is that the premillennial writers make these 
prophetic and apocalyptic writings the chief source of 
their proofs upon which they base their predictions re¬ 
garding the millennium. In our study we have shown 
that these scriptures do not warrant their assumption. 

When we turn to the epistles, it must be kept in 
mind that the apostles were Jews, and shared the mis¬ 
conceptions of their Scribes and Rabbins, namely, that 
when the Messiah came He would deliver Israel from the 
domination of a foreign power, and not only restore the 
Davidic glory, but give them world conquest. It never 
dawned on them that the coming of the Messiah could 
mean the destruction of their holy city with its temple, 
the abolition of the Mosaic polity, and the complete dis¬ 
integration of their nation. It was the refusal of Jesus 
to accept their popular national conception of the Mes¬ 
sianic kingdom, and allow Himself to be made king over 




Jesus Coming Again 


261 


Israel, and His persistent warnings of approaching 
national disaster, that aroused the opposition of the 
rulers of the people and provoked His crucifixion. 
Even after the resurrection, the chosen twelve clung 
to this national hope and looked for its realization. 
While the Pentecostal blessing wrought a miraculous 
change in the moral character of these praying, devout 
disciples, and equipped them to be living witnesses of 
Jesus, it did not clear away all the mental fog concern¬ 
ing the national political expectations. It was consid¬ 
erable time before any of these zealous, self-denying 
preachers of righteousness realized the scope of their 
mission, “ to the uttermost parts of the earth.” It 
required a special vision thrice repeated, and cor¬ 
roborated b} r a counterpart to the devout, praying 
Cornelius to compel Peter to break through his ra¬ 
cial prejudices and preach the gospel to even such a 
good man as the Roman centurion. Even then he was 
strongly rebuked by his co-disciples for such a breach 
of national exclusiveness, and notwithstanding the evi¬ 
dent manifestations of divine sanction confirming the 
reality of the vision on the house top in Joppa, it was 
with great difficulty that he convinced the infant 
Church that “ to the Gentiles also God had granted 
repentance unto life.” Some of the Jewish Christians 
were never reconciled to the inclusion of the Gentiles 
into the covenants of grace, holding tenaciously even 
to the last their national misconceptions of the Mes¬ 
sianic kingdom. It is thus clear that very good men, 
“ full of faith and the Holy Ghost,” may entertain 
erroneous ideas, and be grievously mistaken in regard 
to national politics and even theological dogma. 

The. conversion of the enthusiastic and energetic 
young scholar and persecutor, Saul of Tarsus, was a 




262 The Kingdom and Coming of Christ 


very important accession to the infant Christian 
Church. He was especially ordained as an apostle to 
the Gentiles. He was educated in the schools of the 
Rabbins, and imbued with all their racial exclusiveness 
and national hopes. A great revolution took place in 
the mind and sentiments of this Hebrew of the Hebrews, 
of the narrowest sect of the Pharisees, when he accepted 
the commission to preach the gospel to the Gentiles. 
We are indebted to his scholarly pen for the most pro¬ 
found treatises of Christian theology to be found in 
the New Testament. His treatment of eschatology is 
somewhat fragmentary. He raises some questions 
which he leaves quite unsettled. It seems that some of 
his earlier statements are colored by his early training 
and national aspirations. He seldom refers to the 
kingdom of God. This may be accounted for by the 
fact that he is writing to Gentile Christians, who could 
not share his national expectations. Religiously he 
emphasized, as does no other apostle, the fact that by 
the sacrifice of Christ, the middle wall of partition be¬ 
tween the Jews and Gentiles was broken down (Eph. 
2:11-22), so that “there is neither Jew nor Greek, 
there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor 
female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.” (Gal. 3: 
28.) He gives us the very best definition of the king¬ 
dom when he urges, “ The kingdom of God is not meat 
and drink, but righteousness and peace and joy in the 
Holy Ghost.” (Rom. 14:14.) It does not consist 
in external organization, ritualistic observations, or sys¬ 
tems of theology. But in the operation of the Holy 
Spirit in the heart of the believer, imparting to him 
“ righteousness and peace and joy,” a definite personal 
experience and a consciously holy character. In his 
comprehensive summary of the privileges of sainthood 




Jesus Coming Again 


263 


through the blood of Jesus, Paul wrote, “ Giving thanks 
unto God the Father, which hath made us meet to be 
partakers of the inheritance among the saints of light, 
who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, 
and hath translated us into the kingdom of His dear 
son.” (Col. 1:12, 13.) This is not a translation to 
take place in the future, but one that has been com¬ 
pleted, “ Hath translated us into the kingdom.” The 
kingdom was then established, and Paul considered him¬ 
self and his fellow Christians as citizens thereof. This 
is in harmony with all his teaching on the triumphs of 
grace through faith in Jesus, by which the dominion of 
sin is destroyed and Christ reigns supreme in heart and 
life. (Horn. 5:7 and 6:11-23.) 

Paul also gives warning against the sins that ex¬ 
clude people from the kingdom. After specifying some 
of these sins, he says, “ As I have told you in time 
past that those that do such things shall not inherit 
the kingdom of God.” (Gal. 5:21.) For “the un¬ 
righteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God.” (1 
Cor. 6:9, 10.) 

Here again the kingdom of God is already established 
in the world as the right or inheritance of the children 
of God. But this kingdom holds in promise the 
eternal glory of Christ for all who are in Him. In 
his great resurrection chapter, Paul endeavors to ex¬ 
plain the nature of the resurrection body and life. 
From the well attested fact of the resurrection of 
Jesus, he establishes the belief in the resurrection of 
all who are Christ’s at His coming. “ Then cometh the 
end, when He shall have delivered up the kingdom to 
God even the Father; when He shall have put down all 
rule, and all authority and power.” (1 Cor. 15:23, 
24.) 




£64 The Kingdom and Coming of Christ 


The millennialists claim that the millennium sepa¬ 
rates the coming of Christ and “ the end,” when Christ 
will deliver up the kingdom unto the Father. There is 
nothing here, however, to indicate the lapse of a thou¬ 
sand years or any saving activities on the part of 
Jesus between His coming and the end. The more con¬ 
sistent interpretation is that at the resurrection of the 
saints, Christ will deliver up to the Father the media¬ 
torial kingdom, under which, by the Holy Spirit’s min¬ 
istry of redemption, the world is being saved. It is 
under the power of the gospel that Jesus will put 
“ down all rule, and all authority and power ” that 
exalts itself against righteousness. If one is disposed 
to question as to why the delay in the assertion of this 
sovereign power, the ready answer is, there is no delay. 
Jesus does not rule by arbitrary power but by persuad¬ 
ing and drawing. “ And I, if I be lifted up, will draw 
all men unto me.” (John 1£: 3£.) This saving work 
has been in operation ever since Pentecost. It would 
have been hastened if men had been faithful. The rea¬ 
son it has not progressed more rapidly is because the 
disciples of Jesus have not always been loyal to the 
truth. Peter meets the question with the explanation, 
“ But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that 
one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a 
thousand years as one day.” (£ Pet. 3:8.) 

This gospel interpretation harmonizes with the re¬ 
mainder of Paul’s argument. As he develops his theme, 
he distinguishes between the terrestrial and the celes¬ 
tial, the natural and the spiritual, the earthly and the 
heavenly. He eliminates all that is material and cor¬ 
ruptible, and makes this positive statement, “ Now, I 
say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the 
kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incor- 





Jesus Coming Again 


265 


ruption.” (1 Cor. 15:50.) He then proceeds to dis¬ 
cuss the triumphant and immortal glory of all who 
obtain victory through our Lord Jesus Christ in such 
a way as to forbid the conclusion that he is here think¬ 
ing of a bodily reign of Jesus on the earth. 

The appearing, manifestation, revelation, or com¬ 
ing of Christ did occupy a prominent place in the 
thought and teaching of Paul. The first Epistle to the 
Thessalonians is not only the earliest of Paul’s epistles, 
but the earliest New Testament writings. It is gen¬ 
erally conceded that this epistle was written before any 
of the gospels. “ No epistle of Paul shows so clearly as 
this one the kinship of view point which he had with his 
race. Distress and affliction had visited the new 
church, and to establish them in their faith, their hopes 
were directed towards the events of the end. The per¬ 
secutors who had filled 6 the measure of their sins ’ were 
soon to be overcome by a catastrophic judgment. 
‘ The wrath is come upon them to the uttermost.’ ” 
{Studies in Pauline Eschatology , by Dr. E. J. Pratt, 

p. 122.) 

This judgment upon the Jews who filled up their sins 
by killing the prophets, crucifying the Lord Jesus, and 
persecuting the apostles, forbidding them to preach to 
the nations that they might be saved (1 Thess. 2: 15, 
16), was not a catastrophe that was reserved for some 
indefinite time in the future, thousands of years away, 
but a judgment that was already pronounced and in 
the course of execution. He says, ephthasen de ep 
autous , “ is come upon them.” 

The language of this passage is so similar to Christ’s 
denunciation of rebellious Jerusalem that it is very 
difficult to get away from the conviction that Paul had 
this predicted doom before his mind. While he pro- 






£66 The Kingdom and Coming of Christ 


nounces such severe judgment upon the ungodly, he 
promises rich blessings to those who “ turn from idols 
to serve the living and true God, and to wait for His 
Son from heaven.” (1 Thess. 1: 9, 10.) These faith¬ 
ful saints were His hope and joy and crown of rejoic¬ 
ing “ in the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ at His 
coming.” It is very evident that he was thinking of 
the immediate coming or parousia of the Lord Jesus. 
But to him the wrath upon the enemies of Christ, 
and the glory of the saints were both at “ His com¬ 
ing.” The expectation of the immediate coming of 
Christ raised the question of the prospects of the 
dead, and their relation to the living saints. This 
disputed point he undertakes to settle in closing 
the fourth chapter, by saying, “ that we which are 
alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not 
prevent (or go before) them which are asleep.” (1 
Thess. 4: 15.) The expression, “ We which are alive,” 
indicates that he was expecting the coming of Jesus 
during his lifetime. In these passages, Paul does not 
clearly define his views. It would seem that he had not 
thought his way clear through his subject. The 
threatened doom to Jerusalem and the Jewish nation 
exerted an influence upon his mind. The expectation 
that even yet a Messianic kingdom would be established 
under which the enemies of God would be punished and 
the saints rewarded, had its influence, and the final 
consummation of the ages with the resurrection glory 
was before him. But undoubtedly his expectation was 
of an immediate coming of Jesus in judgment upon 
the ungodly and vindication for the righteous. 

This epistle left these questions unsettled and much 
controversy seems to have been aroused in this church, 
which called forth the Second Epistle. These Chris- 




Jesus Coming Again 


267 


tians were in danger of losing their grip on the essen¬ 
tials of salvation because of the dissensions over the 
matter. Paul beseeches them not to be “ shaken in 
mind, nor troubled neither by spirit, nor by word, 
nor by letter as from us, that the day of Christ is at 
hand.” (2 Thess. 2: 3, 4.) 

If in the first epistle, Paul expected Christ to come 
immediately, he seems now to have revised his opinion 
and warns these Christians not to be troubled, even by 
a letter from himself, probably referring to his first 
epistle. “ The day of Christ ” now appeared more 
distant. He intimates events that must precede the 
coming, notably, “ the falling away,” and the revela¬ 
tion of “ the man of sin.” He does not undertake to 
define this man of sin, nor what he means by “ the fall¬ 
ing away.” Evidently, there was some unrecorded ser¬ 
mon or conversation in which he had explained these 
things. He said, “ Remember ye not, that, when I was 
yet with you, I told you of these things.” (2 Thess. 
2:5.) Many conjectures have been made regarding 
this “ man of sin ” who is taken as a sign of the coming 
of Jesus. Every generation has had heralds of his 
appearance, featured by premillennialists. It was 
apparently a common appellation for any prominent 
person who proved false and may have meant the Ro¬ 
man general that besieged Jerusalem. It is worthy 
of note that he is called “ the son of perdition,” the 
phrase by which Jesus designated the traitor Judas, 
and may be rendered “ the son of destruction.” Jesus 
also predicted a falling away before the destruction of 
Jerusalem. “ Because iniquity shall abound, the love 
of many shall grow cold.” (Matt. 24:12.) There 
must be stronger reasons than appear in the text, to 
prove that the “ man of sin ” and “ the falling away ” 




268 The Kingdom and Coming of Christ 


were primarily understood by Paul to appear in the 
twentieth century. If we admit that we do not under¬ 
stand the meaning of Paul, we are in good company. 
Even Peter, who was much nearer to Paul, so near that 
he might have looked him up and talked the matter over 
with him, was perplexed by his teaching on this sub¬ 
ject. He said, “ Even as our beloved brother Paul, 
also according to the wisdom given unto him hath writ¬ 
ten unto you; as also in all his epistles, speaking in 
them of these things, (Judgment and the coming of 
Christ) in which are some things hard to be under¬ 
stood, which they that are unlearned and unstable 
wrest, as they do also the other scriptures to their own 
destruction.” (2 Pet. 3:15, 16.) 

Paul’s expectation of being alive at the coming of 
Jesus seemed to fade with the advancing years. When 
writing to the Philippians, he was not expecting Christ’s 
coming as much as he was his own departure. He was 
now a prisoner in Rome and his change of fortune 
seems to have modified his views on the coming of Christ. 
He wrote, “ For to me to live is Christ, and to die is 
gain. But if I live in the flesh, this is the fruit of my 
labour: yet what I shall choose I wot not. For I am 
in a strait betwixt two, having a desire to depart, and 
to be with Christ; which is far better: nevertheless to 
abide in the flesh is more needful for you.” (Phil. 1: 
21-24.) When Paul was brought before Nero, Em¬ 
peror of Rome, the second time, he wrote his second 
epistle to Timothy. He closed with these impressive 
declarations, “ I charge thee, therefore, before God 
and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick 
and the dead at His appearing and His kingdom. . . . 
I am now ready to be offered, the time of my departure 
is at hand. I have fought a good fight, I have fin- 





Jesus Coming Again 


269 


ished my course, I have kept the faith: henceforth 
there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which 
the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that 
day: and not to me only but unto all them that love 
His appearing.” (2 Tim. 4:1-8.) 

The appearing here is to “ j udge the quick and the 
dead,” therefore, the great judgment, rather than a 
millennial kingdom, is the scene of the revelation of the 
full glory of God, and the dispensing of the rewards of 
righteousness. While there is no evidence in the epis¬ 
tles of Paul of a millennial reign of Jesus on the earth, 
there was ever before him a clear conception of a re¬ 
turn of Jesus. At times he conceived of him as being 
“ at hand ” or right near. This expression, “ The 
Lord is at hand ” (Phil. 4: 5), may mean the approach 
of death or the destruction of Jerusalem as consistently 
as of a coming judgment, and is often so applied. But 
to Paul, the Lord’s Supper was a token of a future com¬ 
ing. He said, “ For as often as ye eat this bread, and 
drink this cup, ye do show forth the Lord’s death until 
He come.” (1 Cor. 11:26.) 

Paul does not attempt to systematize his views on 
the coming of Jesus. As far as his epistles indicate, 
he did not attempt to work out any details. He simply 
makes broad statements regarding the coming of Jesus, 
and the judgment, except in the earliest epistles to 
the Thessalonian Church. But of this he was positive, 
“ We must all appear before the judgment seat of 
Christ; that every one may receive the things done in 
his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be 
good or bad.” (2 Cor. 5: 10.) 

There is only one passage in the Epistle of James 
that bears upon our subject. In his incisive denunci¬ 
ation of those who are greedy for gold, and are cor- 





270 The Kingdom and Coming of Christ 


rupted by pleasure and selfishness, he exhorted the 
faithful to be patient “ unto the coming of the Lord.” 
“ Stablish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord 
draweth nigh.” There is nothing in this passage to 
differentiate it from the teaching of Paul. The cer¬ 
tainty of having to meet the Lord, the judge of all, 
“who standeth at the door” (James 5:1—9), should 
restrain evil men and spur them to deal honestly and 
fairly with their fellows; and inspire the saints “ to 
patient continuance in well doing, knowing that in due 
season they shall reap if they faint not.” The state¬ 
ments, “ For the coming of the Lord draweth nigh,” 
and “ Behold, the judge standeth at the door,” show 
that James looked for the immediate coming of the 
Lord to judgment. There is no hint of a millennium 
between “ the coming of the Lord ” and the judgment 
of the wicked. 

When Peter wrote his second epistle there was much 
questioning about the nearness of the Lord’s coming 
and the predicted judgment. In his first epistle he 
said, “ For the time is come that judgment must begin 
at the house of God. And if it first begin at us, what 
shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of 
God? And if the righteous scarcely be saved where 
shall the ungodly and sinner appear?” (1 Pet. 4: 
17, 18.) There were backsliders and contentious peo¬ 
ple in the church. Controversy was rife, and many 
doubted the nearness of the threatened judgment and 
scoffed at the prediction of the coming of the Lord, 
saying, “ Where is the promise of His coming? for 
since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they 
were from the beginning of creation.” (2 Pet. 3: 3, 4.) 
Peter rebuked these for their folly, and assured them 
“ that God is not slack concerning His promise as some 






Jesus Coming Again 


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men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, 
not willing that any should perish but that all should 
come to repentance.” (Verse 9.) Then he emphati¬ 
cally declares that 44 The day of the Lord will come as 
a thief in the night ” (Verse 10), and describes the at¬ 
tendant catastrophe in the most lurid and startling lan¬ 
guage. Peter does not seem to know anything about a 
dispensation of saving power, subsequent to, and far 
superior and more glorious than the gospel to be in¬ 
augurated by our Lord at His coming again. To him 
the gospel is the last word in the longsuffering mercy 
of God to save the world. He brooks no reflection 
upon the gospel because he had been associated with 
Jesus in the Holy Mount and through the crisis of his 
life, and spoke from first-hand knowledge. He was ex¬ 
pecting the church to continue after his death, and 
w T rote this epistle to warn them against listening to the 
detractors of the gospel. He said, 44 Moreover, I will 
endeavor that ye may be able after my decease to 
have these things always in remembrance. For we 
have not followed cunningly devised fables, when we 
made known unto you the power and coming of our 
Lord Jesus Christ, but were eye witnesses of his maj¬ 
esty.” (2 Pet. 1:15, 16.) 

Against the false teachers and disturbers, he pro¬ 
nounces judgment and destruction. 46 Whose judgment 
now of a long time Jingereth not, and their damnation 
slumbereth not.” (2 Pet. 2:1-3.) He summons as 
proof of the irrevocable judgments of God, 44 the an¬ 
gels that sinned ” and 44 are reserved unto judgment ” 
(Verses 4, 5, 6), the old world destroyed by water, 
and the turning of the cities of Sodom and Gomorrha 
into ashes, and says, 44 The Lord knoweth how to de¬ 
liver the godly out of temptation, and to reserve the 




27£ The Kingdom and Coming of Christ 


unjust unto the day of judgment to be punished.” 
(Verse 9.) This, in brief, is the line of argument that 
led up to the lurid description of the dissolution of 
heaven and earth, in “ the day of God,” to be re¬ 
placed by a “ new heaven and a new earth, wherein 
dwelleth righteousness.” (2 Pet. 3: 10—13.) 

Is Peter here describing the consummation of all 
things? Or is the destruction of Jerusalem and the 
judgment of the Jewish nation foretold by Jesus the 
scene that occupies his attention? When he says 64 all 
things shall be dissolved,” “ the heavens being on fire, 
shall be dissolved and the elements shall melt with fer-> 
vent heat,” is he speaking of the physical elements of 
our solar system, or the ecclesiastical polity and the 
civil government of the Jewish nation? Does the “ new 
heavens and new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness ” 
mean that there will be such a fire as will dissolve this 
earth into its original gases and all the planets will be 
consumed away? Or is he in the hyperbolic imagery of 
Hebrew prophecy picturing in the most impressive man¬ 
ner possible the passing away of the whole Mosaic 
economy, to which the scoffers and false teachers were 
clinging, and the utter dissolution of the whole civil 
organization; and the emergence of a purified Chris¬ 
tian Church, and government? It is a well known fact 
of history that the destruction of Jerusalem by the 
Romans did utterly dissolve all the ecclesiastical polity 
of the Jews, and left them without a vestige of their 
national government. Peter’s illustration of the de¬ 
struction of “the old world” by the flood gives sup¬ 
port to this view, as also the prophetic descriptions of 
the national catastrophes that figure so largely in the 
scriptures. Whatever view may be accepted, there is 
no trace here of the gospel of salvation through faith 








Jesus Coming Again £73 

in Jesus being succeeded by a millennial reign of the 
returned Lord for the salvation of the world. 

All these predictions and scenes are of a judgment 
to come, and they are supported by the national judg¬ 
ments of the past. Those who look upon these figures 
of Peter as apocalyptic imagery drawn from the proph¬ 
ets of Israel have strong support in the opening pas¬ 
sages of this third chapter, “ This second epistle, be¬ 
loved, I now write unto you: in both which I stir up 
your pure minds by way of remembrance: that ye may 
be mindful of the words which were spoken before by 
the holy prophets, and of the commandment of us the 
apostles of the Lord and Saviour.” (£ Pet. '3:1, £.) 

This imminent and certain judgment urged by Peter 
is a strong incentive to holiness of heart and life. 
“ Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, 
what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy 
conversation and godliness.” (Verse 11.) “ Ye, 

therefore, beloved, seeing ye know these things before, 
beware lest ye also, being led away with the error of 
the wicked, fall from your own steadfastness, but grow 
in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour 
Jesus Christ.” (Verses 16, 17.) 

In summing up the testimony of the apostles, it seems 
quite evident that they did expect the return of the 
Lord Jesus in bodily form. Their national conceptions 
were confirmed by the ascension scene, when the angel 
said to them, “ Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing 
up into heaven? this same Jesus, which is taken up 
from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as 
ye have seen Him go into heaven.” (Acts 1: 11.) Did 
the angel mean that Jesus would return in human na¬ 
ture to take up His abode again among men, and by a 
personal bodily presence conduct the divine work of 




274 The Kingdom and Coming of Christ 

saving the world? Looking at the question from this 
distance in the full light of Bible teaching and the de¬ 
velopments of gospel evangelism and Christian history, 
it seems inconceivable that this was the meaning of the 
angel. Though Jesus arose from the dead with His 
physical body, a great and mysterious change had taken 
place. His confidential disciples met Him, conversed 
with Him, but did not recognize Him. The devoted 
women who ministered unto Him met Him at the sepul¬ 
chre and mistook Him for the gardener. He appeared 
in the midst of His perplexed and frightened disciples 
in the upper room, with the doors locked, and disap¬ 
peared without difficulty or inconvenience. Yet He 
asked His disciples to feel His flesh and bones, and 
satisfy themselves that He was not a spirit, and He 
ate with them. For forty days He showed Himself 
alive after His passion. This was necessary to leave 
no room to doubt the reality of His resurrection. But 
who can tell the condition of His body when He 
ascended unto heaven in the presence of His astonished 
disciples? We are here confronted by mysterious spir¬ 
itual conditions that we cannot understand. We do 
not know enough about the ascension body of Jesus to 
dogmatize about the descension body, even if He were to 
return in the same bodily form. According to His own 
emphatic statement to His sorrowing disciples, His 
saving and governing power in His highly exalted po¬ 
sition at the right hand of God is far greater than if 
He were bodily present in the world. He said, “ Never¬ 
theless, I tell you the truth; it is expedient for you 
that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter 
will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send 
Him unto you.” (John 16:7.) Therefore, His spir¬ 
itual presence is more potent for the salvation of the 







Jesus Coming Again 


275 


world than His bodily presence. The coming of the 
Son of Man in His glory presents to us a condition we 
cannot describe. John on Patmos had a vision of the 
glorified Presence and attempted a description, but we 
cannot conceive the glory thus revealed. This seems 
merely like a word picture of a spiritual reality that 
is far beyond our physical limitations. We are led 
by the teaching of the Gospel to worship Jesus as an 
infinite and Omnipresent Saviour, and we cannot now 
think of Him as a localized ruler. True, He did come 
to earth as a babe in the manger and perfectly identify 
Himself with man, and in His humiliation suffered hu¬ 
man limitations; but this was to reveal God the Father 
to man in such a way that He might be understood, 
and by His own death to atone for human sin that man 
might be reconciled to God. Now that He has been 
exalted as a Prince and a Saviour, “ Far above all 
principalities, and power, and might, and dominion, 
and every name that is named, not only in this world, 
but also in that which is to come, and hath put all 
things under His feet, and gave Him to be the head of 
all things to the Church, which is His body, the fulness 
of Him that filleth all in all ” (Eph. 1:21-23); it is 
impossible to think of Him passing through a second 
humiliation, taking upon Himself again a bodily form, 
and becoming a localized sovereign of the nations of this 
world. Whatever may be the nature of His coming 
again, it will be in glory to judge the world, not to 
rule the world. 

6. The Coming of Christ to Judgment 

We have reviewed the comings of Christ that may be 
spoken of as past, but the New Testament gives promi¬ 
nence to a coming or parousia that is yet future, and 





276 The Kingdom and Coming of Christ 


commonly designated “ the second coming of Christ.” 
As this phrase is not used in the gospels, and there are 
admittedly several comings mentioned by Jesus and the 
apostles, the application of the phrase to the future 
appearing of Christ is more confusing than edifying. 
We have failed to discover any scriptural warrant 
for the theory of an earthly millennial reign of Jesus 
in the body. The kingdom of heaven is not a system 
of divine government reserved for a future display of 
divine power and glory. The kingdom of heaven is 
already among men in the earth. “ And when He was 
demanded of the Pharisees, when the kingdom of God 
should come, He answered them and said, The kingdom 
of God cometh not with observation: neither shall they 
say, 4 Lo, here! ’ or, ‘ lo, there! ’ for, behold, the king¬ 
dom of God is within, or among you.” (Luke 17: 20, 
21.) The kingdom of heaven as the rule and realm of 
God in the hearts and lives of men and women regener¬ 
ates and controls the world not by external authority 
and power, but by internal grace and moral energy un¬ 
der the ministry of the Holy Spirit. The principles 
and precepts of this kingdom are most discriminating: 
sifting the good from the evil, condemning and destroy¬ 
ing the unbelieving and disobedient; and saving and 
sanctifying for eternal glory all who believe in Jesus 
and obe} r the gospel. This fact forms the startling call 
of John the Baptist to repentance. He said: 

And now, also, the axe is laid unto the root of the trees: 
therefore every tree which bringeth not forth good fruit is 
hewn down and cast into the fire* I indeed baptize you 
with water unto repentance: but He that cometh after me 
is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: 
He shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost and with fire: 
whose fan is in His hand, and He will throughly purge 





Jesus Coming Again 


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His floor, and gather the wheat into His garner; but He 
will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire. (Matt. 3: 
11 - 13 .) 

Throughout the scriptures, this inscrutable, un¬ 
erring, discriminating, and sifting judgment of God is 
clearly taught and strongly emphasized. The writer 
of the Epistle to the Hebrews throws this teaching into 
this forceful appeal: 

Let us labor, therefore, to enter into His rest, lest any 
man fall after the same example of unbelief. For the word 
is quick and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged 
sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and 
spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of 
the thoughts and intents of the heart. Neither is there any 
creature that is not manifest in His sight; but all things 
are naked and open before the eyes of Him with whom we 
have to do. (Heb. 4 : 11 - 13 .) 

This omniscient discernment of the secrets of the 
human heart lifts the judgments of God infinitely above 
the frailties and limitations of the human mind. This 
is why even the most enlightened men are led to the 
conclusion of Paul: “ O the depths of the riches both 
of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable 
are thy judgments and thy ways past finding out.” 
(Rom. 11:33.) 

The reality of a “judgment to come” lies at the 
base of all apostolic teaching. The day of judgment 
is familiarly referred to as “ the day of the Lord ” and 
“ that day.” When preaching on Mars Hill, Paul de¬ 
clared, “ And the times of this ignorance God winked 
at; but now commandeth all men everywhere to repent: 
because He hath appointed a day, in the which He will 
judge the world in righteousness by that man whom 
He hath ordained; w r hereof He gives assurance unto all 




278 The Kingdom and Coming of Christ 


men, in that He hath raised Him from the dead.” 
(Acts 17:30, 31.) This judgment will take place at 
the coming or appearing of the Lord Jesus. To Timo¬ 
thy, Paul wrote, “ I charge thee, therefore, before God 
and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick 
and the dead, at His appearing and His kingdom.” 
(2 Tim. 4: 1, 8.) In that day appointed of God, Paul 
expected to receive the crown of life from the Lord, the 
righteous judge. Not only are the unrighteous con¬ 
demned at the coming of the Lord Jesus, but the saints 
are rewarded. The punishment of the wicked and 
glory of the saints are so connected with the coming of 
Jesus that it is only by an unwarranted violence to 
plain language that a millennial period can be thrust 
between them. In his first epistle to the Thessalonians, 
after he explains to the Christians the comforting fact 
that those which are 46 alive and remain at His coming 
will not prevent (or go before) them which are asleep ” 
(1 Thess. 4:15), he proceeds in the next chapter to 
connect with “ the day of the Lord,” judgment and 
destruction. In the second epistle he leaves no room 
to doubt the close connection of the salvation of the 
faithful and the destruction of the disobedient at " the 
coming of the Lord.” 

We are bound to thank God always for you, brethren, 
as it is meet, because that your faith groweth exceedingly, 
and the charity of every one of you all toward each other 
aboundeth; so that we ourselves glory in the churches of 
God for your patience and faith in all your persecutions 
and tribulations that ye endure: which is a manifest token 
of the righteous judgment of God, that ye may be counted 
worthy of the kingdom of God, for which ye also suffer: 
seeing that it is a righteous thing with God to recompense 
tribulation to them that trouble you; and to you who are 
troubled rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be re- 




Jesus Coming Again 


279 


vealed from heaven with His mighty angels, in flaming fire 
taking vengeance on them that know not God and obey not 
the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ: who shall be punished 
with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord 
and from the glory of His power; when He shall come to 
be glorified in His saints, and to be admired of all them 
that believe (because our testimony among you was be¬ 
lieved) in that day. (2 Thess. 1:3-10.) 

This is one of Paul’s comprehensive sentences, in 
which he gathers up so many details of the gospel 
teaching. He contrasts the evident glory of those who 
believe in Jesus with the sure destruction of those who 
disobey the gospel “ in that day ” when the Lord shall 
be revealed from heaven to take vengeance in flaming 
fire, on them that know not God, when He shall come 
to be glorified in His saints. There is no mistaking 
the connection. The revelation of vengeance is when 
He comes to be glorified, accompanied by the angels 
from heaven. 

Peter, when preaching to Cornelius, said that Jesus 
commanded them (the apostles) “ to preach unto the 
people and testify that Jesus of Nazareth was ordained 
of God to be judge of the quick and the dead.” (Acts 
10:42.) In his second epistle, he connects the judg¬ 
ment with “ the day of the Lord ” when the Lord shall 
come in the destroying fire. (2 Pet. 3.) Jude joins 
this coming to judgment with the prophecies of Enoch, 
the seventh from Adam, saying, “ Behold the Lord com- 
eth with ten thousand of His saints, to execute judg¬ 
ment upon all, and to convince all that are ungodly 
among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have 
ungodly committed, and of all their hard speeches which 
ungodly sinners have spoken against Him.” (Jude 
14:15.) 

There is, therefore, a unanimity of apostolic testi- 




280 The Kingdom and Coming of Christ 


mony that when the Lord cometh in 44 that day,” it 
will be for judgment. To get the basis of this doctrine, 
we naturally turn to the gospels which record the 
teaching of Jesus. We have reviewed the predicted 
judgment of Jerusalem and the Jewish nation and its 
fulfilment, as well as the judgments upon the other na¬ 
tions that opposed the truth and persecuted the saints. 
These national judgments form the background of the 
general teaching of a great judgment of the world yet 
to come. Jesus kept the emphasis upon the judgments 
of God as a warning against indifference and sin, and 
as an incentive to diligent faith and holiness. In the 
Sermon on the Mount, He urged, 44 Enter ye in at the 
strait gate,” and shows the danger of entering the 
broad way of destruction. He also gives the infallible 
test of character in the fruit of the life, and says, 
44 Many shall say to me in that day, 4 Lord, Lord, have 
we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have 
cast out devils and in thy name done many wonderful 
works? * Then will I profess unto them, I never knew 
you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.” (Matt. 
7:13-23.) All through the teaching of Jesus is the 
condemnation of sin and the emphasis upon a coming 
judgment, when the inequalities of life will be adjudi¬ 
cated and a just recompense will be awarded to every 
person according to his works, whether they be good 
or bad. As He draws nearer the close of His ministry, 
and the opposition against Him increases, He becomes 
more definite and pronounced regarding the coming 
judgment. In His closing addresses in the temple, He 
announces the awful woes upon the 44 scribes and Phari¬ 
sees, hypocrites,” which lead up to the prediction of 
judgment on the Holy City and the whole common¬ 
wealth of Israel. In this national judgment is given us 





Jesus Coming Again 


281 


an earnest of the just judgment of God against all 
ungodliness and unrighteousness of men. In illustrat¬ 
ing this fact, Jesus recalls the judgment upon the old 
world and says, “ As the days of Noe were, so shall also 
the coming of the Son of Man be.” (Matt. 24:37.) 
The conditions which prevailed when fire was rained 
upon the cities of the plains prevailed when Jerusalem 
was destroyed by the fire of the Romans, just as they 
prevailed when Babylon was taken by Darius, the Mede, 
and when Halifax, N. S., was destroyed by the awful 
explosion on December 6, 1917, and doubtless will pre¬ 
vail when the Son of Man comes to judgment and all 
the holy angels with Him. Persons will be engaged in 
their ordinary employments and one will be taken 
and another left. This is the outstanding fact the 
parables of judgment press upon us with such intense 
urgency. In the parable of the servant who is set 
to guard the house, he knows not when the thief may 
come, therefore, he must keep a sharp lookout. “ But 
if that evil servant shall say in his heart, 6 My Lord 
delayeth his coming,’ and shall begin to smite his fellow- 
servants, and to eat and drink with the drunken; the 
lord of that servant shall come in a day when he looketh 
not for him, and in an hour that he is not aware of, and 
shall cut him asunder, and appoint his portion with the 
hypocrites: there shall be weeping and gnashing of 
teeth.” (Matt. 24: 42-51.) 

Matthew groups the judgment parables of Jesus in 
order of climax so as to make the most profound im¬ 
pression. The parable of the virgins teaches the ne¬ 
cessity of inward grace as a qualification for admission 
into the marriage feast when the bridegroom comes. 
At the midnight cry, “ all those virgins arose.” (Matt. 
$5; J=-13.) It is only by a very strange perversion of 




282 The Kingdom and Coming of Christ 


language that a millennial period can be inserted be¬ 
tween the rising of the wise and that of the foolish vir¬ 
gins. The wise were qualified and ready to enter into 
the feast with the bridegroom; the foolish were not pre¬ 
pared and were shut out. 

In the parable of the talents, the emphasis is upon 
the necessity of profitably using the talents we have, 
be they less or more. (Matt. 25: 14—30.) We might 
group with this the parable of the pounds which teaches 
practically the same lesson. (Luke 19:12-27.) At 
the return of the lord all those servants were called 
upon to render an account of their talents or pounds. 
Those who had profitably used theirs were suitably re¬ 
warded. The unprofitable servant who failed to use 
his talent was cast into outer darkness: where “ there 
shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” Of the serv¬ 
ant who failed to increase his pound, the order was, 
“ Take from him the pound and give it to him that 
hath ten pounds.” (Luke 19:24, 27.) “But those 
mine enemies which would not that I should reign over 
them, bring them hither and slay them before me.” In 
these judgment scenes, the faithful and the unfaithful 
are judged at the same time. Otherwise the lord could 
not have said, “ Take ye therefore the talent from him, 
and give it unto him that hath ten talents.” (Matt. 
25:28; compare Luke 19: 24.) 

Then follows the great judgment scene “ when the 
Son of Man shall come in His glory, and all the holy 
angels with Him, then shall He sit upon the throne of 
His glory: and before Him shall be gathered all na¬ 
tions.” (Matt. 25:31, 46.) It is to be taken for 
granted that all nations here means all the people. 
When we speak of nations, we certainly mean the peo¬ 
ple who compose the nations. The attempt to make $ 







Jesus Coming Again 


283 


distinction here between the Gentiles and the Jews is 
very arbitrary and unwarranted. The all is universal 
and includes the Jewish nation as well as the Gentile 
nation. But the elimination of the Jews from this 
assembly for judgment does not alter the principle. 
The basis of judgment is the service rendered unto the 
hungry, naked, sick, and prisoners. The good and 
the bad stood together and were separated “ as a shep¬ 
herd divideth his sheep from the goats.” (Verse 32.) 
The merciful were surprised at the good accredited to 
them, the negligent were equally surprised at their con¬ 
demnation for their neglect. But to those on the right 
the King shall say, “ Come, }^e blessed of my Father, in¬ 
herit the kingdom prepared for you from the founda¬ 
tion of the world.” (Verse 34.) “ Then shall He say 

to those on His left, ‘ Depart from me, ye cursed, into 
everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels.’ ” 
(Verse 41.) “ These shall go away into everlasting 

punishment; but the righteous into life eternal.” 
(Verse 46.) In these judgment parables there is no 
room whatever for an extended period between the judg¬ 
ment of the righteous and the wicked. If they are not 
presented together before the great tribunal, the lan¬ 
guage is very misleading, and there is no possibility of 
reasoning it away on any accepted rules of exegesis. 
This is in harmony with all the teaching of the gospels. 
In the parable of the tares, the wheat and the tares 
grow together until u the end of the age ” when “ the 
Son of Man shall send his angels and they shall gather 
out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them 
which do iniquity; and shall cast them into the furnace 
of fire: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” 
(Matt. 13: 40—42.) The same truth is set forth in the 
parable of the drag net. (Matt. 13:47—50.) 




284 The Kingdom and Coming of Christ 


Another impressive truth common to all these 
parables of judgment is the element of finality. In 
both the parable of the tares, and of the drag net, the 
assorting is at the end of the age. There is no intima¬ 
tion of any further term of probation or new dispen¬ 
sation of saving power. The basis of salvation is the 
gospel of Jesus. There is no hope held out to those 
who are rejected in this judgment. The servant who 
fails to watch is 44 cut off ” or 44 cut asunder.” (Matt. 
24:51.) That is final. When the foolish virgins re¬ 
turn after the bridegroom has gone in, they find the 
door shut against them. All their pleading then is 
unavailing. The emphatic reply is, 44 Verily I say unto 
you, I know you not.” (Matt. 25: 10-12.) That is 
an end of the matter. The wicked and slothful servant 
is cast into outer darkness. There is no promise of 
relief. (Matt. 25:30.) Those who failed to minister 
44 unto one of the least of these my brethren ” go into 
everlasting punishment. (Matt. 25:40, 46.) Those 
who do not strive to enter in at the strait gate, 
and are unprepared to go in when 44 the master of the 
house has risen up and shut to the door,” may stand 
without and knock at the door pleading for admission, 
but the only answer evoked is, 44 I know } T ou not whence 
ye are. Depart from me, ye workers of iniquity.” 
(Luke 13:24—30.) 

This teaching of the final judgment at the final com¬ 
ing of Jesus raises many questions that are inexplicable, 
because we have no revelation regarding them. The 
Bible does not enter into detail regarding the future 
life. It simply sets the facts before us in broad out¬ 
line. There is not even an attempt to systematize 
these outlines. The little we have is positive. It is 
given with divine authority, and is enough to stimulate 




Jesus Coming Again 


285 


hope and keep the faithful soul calm and peaceful, look¬ 
ing for that 44 city which hath foundations whose 
builder and maker is God.” (Heb. 11:10.) The 
paucity of detail produces a temptation to indulge in 
conjecture and mystical speculations. It is such spec¬ 
ulations that have led to so much confusion of thought. 
It is helpful to note that Jesus discouraged in His dis¬ 
ciples all attempts to discern the secret things of God. 
When they asked for the positions of honor He quickly 
replied, 44 it is not mine to give.” (Matt. 20: 20, 23.) 
When they asked, 44 Are there few that be saved? ” He 
replied, 44 Strive to enter in at the strait gate.” (Luke 
13:23, 24.) After His resurrection, it would be nat¬ 
ural to suppose that Jesus would talk more about the 
other world and give more detailed information about 
the divine procedure, but He observed a very discreet 
silence. The burden of His post resurrection talks 
was to prepare His disciples to minister more intelli¬ 
gently and effectively to this world, with the assurance 
that it was by faithful service that they could make sure 
of the hereafter. 44 He that is faithful in that which is 
least, is faithful also in much: and he that is unjust in 
the least, is unjust in much.” (Luke 16:10.) There¬ 
fore, when the disciples asked of their Lord, 44 Wilt thou 
at this time restore again the kingdom of Israel? ” He 
said, 44 Ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, 
and in all Judea and in Samaria, and unto the utter¬ 
most parts of the earth.” (Acts 1: 6-8.) 

We need not be anxious to know the divine procedure, 
or how the final judgment of God will work out in detail. 
It is enough for us to be impressed with the reality of 
the righteous judgments of God, and to know that God 
in the holiness of His being will judge according to the 
eternal moral principles of His kingdom. The applica- 





286 The Kingdom and Coming of Christ 


tion of these principles is involved in all the national 
and particular judgments accredited to God. These 
judgments of the Old Testament adumbrate the final 
judgment which is before us. Thus we have the na¬ 
tional judgment of Israel intertwined in the thought 
and teaching of the gospel with the final judgment. 

Both events appear in the discourse (Matt. 24) and they 
appear together. But this is only in accordance with Bib¬ 
lical prophecy, and in this again the Lord attaches Himself 
to the Old Testament. Events which history shows to have 
been widely separated are brought together in what has 
been described as prophetic perspective or timeless se¬ 
quence or casual connection or as if one formed part of 
the other. In the great prophecies of judgment and in 
those also of deliverance, distinct and separate occurrences 
are often given in the one figure. In the eighth and ninth 
chapters of Isaiah, for example, the deliverance from the 
Assyrian invader and the rise of the great light or the 
Prince of Peace are described as if they were synchronous, 
or one and the same event. In the announcements of judg¬ 
ment which are made by Zephaniah and Obadiah, the final 
judgment and the preliminary partial acts of judgment 
appear to be identical. The deliverances and chastise¬ 
ments of the near future are interpreted as the coming of 
Jehovah, or advent of His kingdom, and are regarded as 
embracing all future deliverances or judgments. The end 
of Israel’s history was the establishment of the kingdom of 
God on earth, and in every stage of the history that king¬ 
dom was coming. In the long process of redemption and 
judicial acts which made up that history, the prophets, rec¬ 
ognized in each such act a real and a relatively decisive 
advent of God and His kingdom. In His eschatological 
discourses, Christ recognizes, as Old Testament prophecy 
did, the partial and preliminary manifestations of the king¬ 
dom as involving the final. He speaks of the two as one 
and declares before the council that henceforth, from the 
then present time, they would “ see him sitting at the right 
hand of power and coming in the clouds of heaven.” (R. 





Jesus Coming Again 287 

Y*) (Dr. Salmond, The Christian Doctrine of Immortal¬ 
ity, page 244.) 

This outstanding feature of the prophetical and 
apocalyptical writings of the Bible must be kept in 
mind when we study the judgment scenes depicted by 
John in Revelation. Amid the imagery with which he 
describes the great religious and political upheavals 
that were pending, he sets forth the final judgment in 
a most graphic manner.- He says: 

And I saw a great white throne, and Him that sat on it, 
from whose face the heaven and the earth fled away; and 
there was no more place for them. And I saw the dead 
small and great stand before God; and the books were 
opened; and another book was opened which is the book 
of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which 
were written in the books according to their works. And 
the sea gave up the dead which was in it; and death and 
hell (or hades) delivered up the dead which were in them: 
and they were judged every man according to his works. 
And death and hell were cast into a lake of fire. This is 
the second death. And whosoever was not found written in 
the book of life was cast into the lake of fire. (Rev. 20: 
11-15.) 

The claim of the millennialists that the righteous 
had been judged a thousand years before, and this judg¬ 
ment was of “ the rest of the dead ” or the wicked dead, 
is not supported by the language. The book of life 
was the exclusive record of the saints and the mention 
of it as one of the books from which the dead were 
judged, suggests the presence of the righteous before 
the great white throne, just as in the judgment scene de¬ 
picted by Jesus, the faithful heirs of the kingdom were 
before “the throne of his glory.” (Matt. 25:31.) 
Jesus, in His impressive discourse on the judgment, 
said, “ Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming in 




£88 The Kingdom and Coming of Christ 


the which all that are in their graves shall come forth: 
they that have done good unto the resurrection of life, 
and they that have done evil unto the resurrection of 
damnation.” (John 5: £8, £9.) 

There is no justification for attempting to set the 
judgment of the evil a millennium after the resurrec¬ 
tion and judgment of the righteous. We are not able 
to determine how much time may be consumed in the 
execution of judgment; but there is no intimation of a 
new dispensation of saving power intervening. Both 
the righteous and the wicked will be called forth to 
judgment at the coming of the Lord Jesus. This com¬ 
ing of Jesus to judgment is final. As the gospel of 
salvation through the benefits of the atonement of Jesus 
under the ministry of the Holy Spirit exhausts the 
moral pressure of redeeming mercy and saving grace, 
the coming of Christ to judge the world in righteous¬ 
ness is the last scene. 

There can be no more moral tests. The test under the 
Holy Spirit is final, not because God is arbitrary and un¬ 
willing, but simply because the dispensation of the Holy 
Spirit exhausts all moral procedure. There is nothing 
more that can he done . Of course if sainthood were au¬ 
tomatic, much more could be done; but inasmuch as it is 
and must be moral (to be sainthood), the notion of a sec¬ 
ond probation is inconceivable. {The Christian Faith, by 
Dr. Olin Curtis, page 343.) 

If the dispensation of the Holy Spirit exhausts all 
moral procedure and makes a second probation incon¬ 
ceivable, it also makes a future dispensation of salva¬ 
tion on any terms inconceivable. Moral salvation must 
be granted and received on moral conditions and by 
moral methods. There is no hint in the scriptures of 
salvation ever being imparted on other than the moral 





Jesus Coming Again 


289 


terms of the personal faith and obedience of a free per¬ 
sonality. 

The seal of finality is everywhere stamped upon the 
gospel of Jesus. The parable of the householder who 
planted a vineyard and let it out to husbandmen clearly 
teaches that the coming of the Son was the supreme 
and final effort of God to save the world. True, the 
vineyard is taken from the wicked husbandmen and 
let out unto others, which shall render unto the house¬ 
holder the fruits in their season. (Matt. 21: 33-43.) 
The application of this parable is: the kingdom of 
heaven will be taken from the faithless, rebellious Jews 
and given to the Gentiles, " a nation bringing forth 
fruits thereof.” There is no intimation of any change 
in the vineyard or terms of tenure. “ The stone re¬ 
jected ” by the rulers of the Jews is the head of the 
corner. “ Be it known unto you all, and to all the 
people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of 
Nazareth, whom ye crucified, whom God raised from 
the dead, even by Him doth this man stand here before 
you whole. This is the stone set at naught of you 
builders which is become the head of the corner. 
Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is 
none other name under heaven given among men, 
whereby we must be saved.” (Acts 4:10, 11.) 

In the parable of the rich man and Lazarus, the tor¬ 
mented Dives had great concern for his five brethren, 
who were in danger of sharing his suffering, and he 
urged that Lazarus be released and sent back to earth 
to warn them. Abraham says, “ They have Moses and 
the prophets: let them hear them.” But Dives pleaded, 
“Nay, Father Abraham: but if one went unto them 
from the dead, they will repent.” But Abraham gave 
the decisive reply, “ If they hear not Moses and the 





290 The Kingdom and Coming of Christ 


prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one 
rose from the dead.” (Luke 16: 19-31.) This is final. 
Those who reject the Son under the appeal of the gos¬ 
pel have no other age or dispensation to which they can 
turn. 

There is one passage that seems to support the mil- 
lennialist theory of a second coming of Jesus unto 
salvation, except when studied with its full context. 
The passage reads: “ And as it is appointed unto men 

once to die, but after this the judgment: so Christ was 
once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them 
that look for Him shall He appear a second time with¬ 
out sin unto salvation.” (Heb. 9:27, 28.) 

Does this mean that the apostles were looking for a 
new and larger dispensation of saving power at the 
second coming of Jesus? If the writer of this epistle 
considered the gospel inadequate for the salvation of 
the world, and believed that Christ must come again 
without a sin offering to save men from sin, surely this 
expectation would reveal itself elsewhere in the epistle. 
There is one other passage that expresses an immediate 
coming of Jesus, but it does not hint of any future and 
more glorious dispensation of saving power. On the 
contrary, salvation by the sacrifice of Jesus is the sole 
preparation for receiving “ the promise ” when He 
comes. “ Cast not away, therefore, your confidence 
which hath great recompense of reward. For ye have 
need of patience, that after ye have done the will of 
God, ye might receive the promise. For yet a little 
while, and He that shall come will come, and will not 
tarry.” (Heb. 10:85-37.) 

The immediate coming of Christ here set forth may 
refer to the destruction of Jerusalem which was of 
such intense concern to these Hebrew Christians. At 





Jesus Coming Again 


291 


all events, the subject the writer was urging, was sure 
and swift punishment upon those who opposed the gos¬ 
pel and persecuted the saints (Heb. 10 :20-39), par¬ 
ticularly those who turned away from the faith, “ who 
hath trodden under foot the Son of God, and hath 
counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was 
sanctified an unholy thing, and hath done despite unto 
the throne of grace.” Yet a very little time and the 
Lord shall come to judge this people and execute judg¬ 
ment upon this rebellious country. “ This is deter¬ 
mined because they have filled up the measure of their 
iniquity, and their destruction slumbereth not.” The 
same swift and certain destruction cometh upon every 
one who sins “ wilfully after that he has received the 
knowledge of the truth.” (Heb. 10:26.) He that 
rejects the sacrifice of Jesus as an offering for sin, can 
find no other means of salvation. But the writer says, 
“We are not of them that draw back unto perdition; 
but of them that believe to the saving of the soul.” 

Throughout this epistle the writer contrasts the per¬ 
fect sacrifice of Jesus for sins with the imperfect sacri¬ 
fices under the ceremonial law of Moses. The whole 
argument keeps a distinct emphasis upon the all suf¬ 
ficiency of the atoning sacrifice of Jesus for the sin of 
the world. In contrast with the saving efficacy of the 
ceremonial and typical offerings for sin at the altar of 
the sanctuary, he says with strong emphasis, “ How 
much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the 
eternal Spirit, offered Himself without spot to God, 
purge your conscience from dead works to serve the 
living God.” (Heb. 9:13, 14.) To the mind of the 
writer, there was nothing beyond this. The atonement 
of Jesus exhausted all moral procedure for the salva¬ 
tion of men. He was perfectly satisfied that Jesus is 




292 The Kingdom and Coming of Christ 


44 able to save them to the uttermost that come unto God 
by Him, seeing that He ever liveth to make intercession 
for them” (Heb. 7:25.) 

The 44 appearing the second time without a sin offer¬ 
ing unto salvation ” must be interpreted consistently 
with the whole teaching of the epistle. The immediate 
context shows that the writer is here also contrasting 
the saving power of Jesus with the imperfect atone¬ 
ment offered yearly by the priests, which was a figure 
of the true atoning blood of Christ. The great issues 
of life and salvation through the gospel presses to the 
front the final consummation. Not the coming of Jesus 
a second time to establish a new dispensation of saving 
power on the earth, but to judge the world and receive 
to Himself in the heavenly glory all 44 who believe to the 
saving of their souls.” 44 For it is appointed unto 
men once to die; but after this, the judgment.” (Heb. 
9:27.) During the nearly two thousand years since 
this trite observation was made, men and women have 
been dying, multitudes 44 without hope and without God 
in the world ”; while multitudes have gone down into 
the valley of the shadow leaning upon the unseen arm of 
the loving Saviour. Whatever may be the time or cir¬ 
cumstance of the final coming of Jesus to judge the 
world in righteousness, multitudes of both good and 
bad are passing from this world into the great beyond, 
44 To that country from whose bourn no traveller e’er 
returns.” 

There is, however, the gracious expectation of a 
glorious resurrection, when by the power of God 
through Christ the promise of heaven will be fulfilled to 
all who have fallen asleep in Jesus, as well as to all the 
saints who are alive at His coming. 

As sure as “ it is appointed untp map once to die, but 




Jesus Coming Again 


293 


after this the judgment,” just so sure was Christ of¬ 
fered upon the Cross of Calvary to bear the sins of the 
world, “ for He tasted death for every man.” (Heb. 
2:9.) It is equally sure that unto them who are saved 
by grace through faith, “shall He appear a second 
time without sin unto salvation.” 

The distinction between the first coming “ as a sin 
offering,” and the second “without a sin offering” is 
unto those who believe. The first coming was to pre¬ 
pare for all a perfect atonement for sin. Those who 
accept this atonement and believe to the saving of their 
souls, anticipate with joy the second coming to receive 
them into the eternal glory of the many mansions of the 
Fathers house. 

In this second coming, “ there is an allusion to the 
return of the high priest from the inner tabernacle; 
for, after appearing there in the presence of God and 
making atonement for the people in the plain dress of 
an ordinary priest (Lev. 16:23, 24), he came out ar¬ 
rayed in his magnificent robes, to bless the people 
who waited for him in the court of the tabernacle of 
the congregation.” (Clark’s Commentary , page 751.) 
Dr. MacKnight says, “ There will be this difference be¬ 
tween the return of Christ to bless His people, and the 
return of the high priest to bless the congregation. 
The latter, after coming out of the most holy place 
made a new atonement in his pontifical robes for him¬ 
self and for the people (Lev. 16:24), which showed 
that the former atonement was not real but typical. 
Whereas Jesus after having made atonement (and pre¬ 
sented Himself in heaven before God) will not return 
to the earth for the purpose of making Himself a sacri¬ 
fice the second time: but having procured eternal re¬ 
demption for us, by the sacrifice of Himself once offered, 





294 The Kingdom and Coming of Christ 


He will return for the purpose of declaring to them 
who wait for Him that they are accepted, and of be¬ 
stowing on them the great blessing of eternal life. 
This reward He, being surrounded by the glory of the 
Father (Matt. 16:27), will give them in the presence 
of an assembled universe, both as their king and their 
priest. This is the great salvation which Christ came 
to preach, and which was confirmed to the world by 
them that heard him.” (Ibid., page 751.) 

When Christ shall “ appear a second time unto sal¬ 
vation,” it will not be to give the world a better oppor¬ 
tunity to be saved on easier terms, but to bestow upon 
those who are trusting in Jesus as their Saviour the 
crowning glory of their faith and hope, a full and final 
salvation from all worldly conditions and limitations. 
This is the very highest salvation of which man is 
capable. Hence, Paul wrote to the saints of Philippi, 
“ For our conversation is in heaven, from whence also 
we look for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ: who shall 
change our vile body that it may be fashioned like unto 
His own glorious body, according to the working 
whereby He is able to subdue all things unto Himself.” 
(Phil. 3:20, 21.) 

Amen, even so, come, Lord Jesus. 




CHAPTER X 


THE GOSPEL HOPE 

N O review of millennial teaching is complete without 
a careful study of the gospel hope. It is confi¬ 
dently stated by millennialists that if Jesus is not to 
return to Jerusalem in bodily form, 44 and build again 
the tabernacle of David which is fallen down,” and 
assume a millennial reign over all the nations of the 
earth, Christians have no hope. The Rev. Len Brough¬ 
ton, D.D., says, 46 The only hope of the redeemed world 
is the return of our Lord.” (The Second Coming of 
Christy p. 50.) At the Keswick Convention held in 
Birkenhead, England, September 10th to 14th, 1917, 
Mr. Horsefield gave a Bible Reading based on Hosea 
6:3, with the topic, 44 His coming as certain as the 
dawn.” The reporter says, 44 The manifold application 
of this wondrous thought brought good cheer to many 
hearts, and in this night of sorrow many saw more 
clearly that the coming of Christ is our only hope.” 
It might be reasonable to ask if the myriads of devout 
Christians who cannot accept the millennial theory are 
without a Christian hope in the world? Multitudes 
who have no thought of Jesus returning as a world 
ruler, have a hope which is 44 as an anchor of the soul, 
both sure and steadfast, and which entereth into that 
within the veil; whither the forerunner is for us entered, 
even Jesus, made an high priest for ever after the order 
of Melchisedec.” (Heb. 6:19, 20.) Is this a false 
hope? It is a great source of cheer and good comfort 
in this night of sorrow, because they are not looking 
295 


296 The Kingdom and Coming of Christ 


to this earth for their consolation, but to heaven whither 
Jesus has entered for them. Is their conscious fellow¬ 
ship with their exalted and glorified Lord a delusion? 
If our only hope is in the return of Jesus, what about 
the multitudes who have passed on without seeing the 
44 Son of Man coming in His glory,” or without expect¬ 
ing to receive an earthly kingdom ? Had they no hope ? 
Dr. Broughton, in his crisp and decisive style, thus dis¬ 
poses off-hand with this question: 44 Heaven is not yet. 

Heaven is at the culmination of time. It is beyond the 
kingdom.” (The Second Coming of Christ , p. 36.) 
That is, heaven does not come into view until the thou¬ 
sand years of Christ’s millennial reign on earth are 
completed. Then whither has Jesus gone? Where is 
He waiting? What is the condition of the sleeping 
saints? Is all the New Testament teaching about 
heaven erroneous? 

The hope of Israel was not purely political. All 
the teaching of the Hebrew scriptures, as well as the 
services of the sanctuary emphasized the reality and 
glory of a moral redemption and restitution which far 
transcends the excellency and splendor of all national 
liberty and restoration. The Psalmist sang: 

Therefore my heart is glad and my glory rejoiceth: my 
flesh also shall rest in hope. For thou wilt not leave my 
soul in Sheol, neither wilt thou suffer thine holy one to see 
corruption. Thou wilt shew me the path of life: in thy 
presence is fulness of joy and at thy right hand there are 
pleasures forevermore. (Psa. 16:9, R. V.) 

The apostles after Pentecost emphasized the Messi¬ 
anic teaching of these Psalms, and focused the hope of 
Israel upon the expectation of the resurrection and 
eternal glory. When defending himself before King 








The Gospel Hope 


297 


Agrippa, from the perverse attacks of the Jews, Paul 
said, 46 And now I stand and am judged for the hope of 
the promise made of God unto our Fathers. Unto 
which promise our twelve tribes, instantly serving God 
day and night hope to come. For which hope’s sake, 
King Agrippa, I am accused of the Jews. Why should 
it be thought a thing incredible with you, that God 
should raise the dead? ” (Acts 26: 6.) 

The hope of the fathers which Paul here presents 
with such consummate skill was not the hope of the 
coming Messiah, because Jesus had already come and 
been glorified. It was not the hope of a something that 
was coming to them, but a hope unto which he, like his 
fathers, was coming. The closing appeal makes it 
clear that this hope was focused upon the resurrection 
of the dead and future glory. In another place Paul 
says, 44 For our conversation (Gr. citizenship) is in 
heaven; from whence also we look for the Saviour, the 
Lord Jesus Christ: who shall change our vile body, that 
it may be fashioned like unto His own glorious body, 
according to the working whereby He is able to subdue 
all things unto Himself.” (Phil. 3:20, 21.) It was 
for the hope of the resurrection of the dead (Acts 
23:6) that Paul was called in question. He claimed 
that this was what he had learned as a son of a Pharisee 
to whose teaching he had always been loyal. It is 
therefore clear that the religious hope of the Jews as 
represented in the teaching of the dominant sect, the 
Pharisees, was the resurrection of the dead and the 
glorified life which was to follow. The teaching, death, 
and resurrection of Jesus as illuminated by the Pente¬ 
costal baptism of the Holy Spirit, gave greater reality 
and definiteness to this hope. Thereafter, it was in¬ 
terpreted in the light of these great historic events of 




298 The Kingdom and Coming of Christ 


the Christ life. The resurrection which came to occupy 
such a large place in the thought and hope of Paul was 
not of some special class or sect, but of all the dead. 
When called upon to meet his accusers and refute the 
charges of the orator, Tertullus, he unhesitatingly said, 
“ I confess that after the way which they call heresy, 
so worship I the God of my fathers, believing all things 
which are written in the law and the prophets: and have 
hope toward God, which they themselves allow, that 
there shall be a resurrection of the dead, both of the 
just and the unjust.” (Acts 24:14, 15.) When he 
finally reached Rome, he called a meeting of the chief 
of the Jews to explain why he was a prisoner in the 
imperial city. In that explanation he said, “ For this 
cause, therefore, have I called for you, to see you, and 
to speak with you, because that for the hope of Israel 
I am bound with this chain.” (Acts 28: 20.) 

Paul’s interpretation of “ the hope of Israel ” be¬ 
came the point of cleavage among the Jews. Those 
who rejected this teaching rejected the deity and Mes- 
siahship of Jesus and remained out of the kingdom of 
God established by the gospel. Those who accepted 
this interpretation became Christians by repenting of 
sin, believing in Jesus as “ God manifest in the flesh ” 
for the salvation of men, and shared the fullness of 
“ the hope of Israel.” This still remains the point of 
cleavage between the Jews and the Christians. 

Through the atoning sacrifice and the resurrection 
of Jesus this “ hope of Israel ” became 44 the hope of the 
gospel.” (Col. 1:23.) In the first chapter of Paul’s 
epistle to the Colossians, the apostle to the Gentiles 
dwells upon this hope as the Christians’ great incentive 
to sacrifice, suffering, and service for the sake of Jesus 
and the salvation of men. By the gospel the middle 





The Gospel Hope 


299 


wall of partition between the Jews and Gentiles was 
broken down, all class and racial distinctions were abol¬ 
ished, and all men were given access to God through 
the faith and hope of Jesus. The Gentile Christians 
were made fellow-heirs with the prophets and apostles 
to the inheritance among the saints in light. Paul 
urges upon these Christians steadfastness of character 
and holiness of life in this strong appeal, 44 And you 
that were sometime alienated and enemies in your minds 
by wicked works, yet now hath He reconciled in the 
body of His flesh through death, to present you holy 
and unblameable, and unreprovable in His sight: if ye 
continue in the faith grounded and settled and be not 
moved away from the hope of the gospel.” (Col. 1: 
21, 23.) The least that can be said of this 44 hope of 
the gospel ” is that it is a hope for all the gospel 
promises for life and glory. While the apostles men¬ 
tion particular objects of that hope, these are insep¬ 
arably associated with the whole glorified life, and the 
part cannot be enjoyed without obtaining the whole. 
It involves all the possible attainments of divine grace, 
the excellencies of Christian character, and eternal 
felicity in the triumphant kingdom of heaven. All the 
realities of 44 the hope of the gospel ” are assured to us 
by personal unity and harmony with the indwelling 
Christ. 44 Even the mystery which hath been hid from 
ages and from generations, but now is made manifest 
to His saints: to whom God would make known what is 
the riches of this glory among the Gentiles; which is 
Christ in you the hope of glory.” (Col. 1:26, 27.) 
Therefore, the reality of this hope is not a matter of 
speculation, a question of theory, or a statement of 
theological dogma, but of actual personal experience 
with every one who is living by faith in 44 the Lord Jesus 





300 The Kingdom and Coming of Christ 


Christ, who is our hope.” (1 Tim. 1:1.) Without 
Jesus the world would be hopeless. The assurance 
of being saved can come to mankind only by His gos¬ 
pel. “For we are saved by hope.” (Rom. 8:24.) 
The salvation here held in view is not the initial pardon 
and adoption by the Spirit, but the final “ adoption, to 
w r it, the redemption of our body.” Therefore, the hope 
by which we are saved is the confident expectation that 
through the resurrection of Christ we shall be raised 
to glory and eternal life. Thus the hope of ultimate 
and triumphant salvation keeps the confidence of the 
Christian centred upon the risen and glorified Jesus 
for complete victory over “ the world, the flesh, and 
the devil,” for time and eternity. “ By ‘ the hope 
of the gospel 5 we are supported, and are comfortable 
in the expectation we have of receiving from the hand 
of God all the good we need in the troubles and adversi¬ 
ties of life, and of having our bodies raised from cor¬ 
ruption and death at the general resurrection.” (Dr. 
A. Clark’s Commentary.) Rooted and grounded in 
this hope the Christian is kept, “ steadfast, unmovable, 
always abounding in the work of the Lord.” (1 Cor. 
15: 58.) The writer to the Hebrews urged the impor¬ 
tance and necessity of the full labor of love and serv¬ 
ice, that is not forgotten of the righteous God, and ex¬ 
pressed the earnest wish “ that every one of you do 
show the same diligence to the full assurance of hope 
unto the end: that ye be not slothful but followers of 
them who through faith inherit the promises.” (Heb. 
6:10-12.) In another expressive passage upon “the 
new and living way” which Jesus our great High 
Priest hath opened unto us, the writer says, “ And hav¬ 
ing a high priest over the house of God; let us draw 
near with a true heart in full assurance of faith.” 





The Gospel Hope 


301 


(Heb. 10:22.) John Wesley makes this lucid and 
profound comment upon the relation of 44 the full assur¬ 
ance of faith,” and 44 the full assurance of hope ”: 
46 The full assurance of faith relates to present pardon, 
the full assurance of hope to future glory. The former 
is the highest divine evidence that God is reconciled to 
me in the Son of His love; the latter is the same divine 
evidence wrought in the soul by the spirit of perse¬ 
vering grace, and of eternal glory. So much and no 
more as faith every moment beholds with open face , so 
much does hope see to all eternity. But this assurance 
is not an opinion, not a bare construction of scripture, 
but is given by the Holy Ghost; and what none can 
have for another, but for himself only.” (Wesley’s 
Notes on the N. T.) 

This full assurance of faith and hope is founded upon 
the immutable promises of God. The writer leads up 
to this wonderful climax emphasizing the perfect secu¬ 
rity of the person whose 44 sure and steadfast ” anchor, 
hope, 44 after patient endurance receives the promised 
inheritance of God in the eternal haven of rest in the 
glory land.” He says, 44 Wherein God, willing more 
abundantly to show unto the heirs of promise the im¬ 
mutability of his counsel, confirmed with an oath; that 
by two immutable things in which it was impossible for 
God to lie, we might have a strong consolation, who 
have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before 
us: which hope we have as an anchor sure and stead¬ 
fast, and which entereth into that within the veil: 
whither the forerunner is for us entered, even Jesus, 
made a high priest forever after the order of Melchise- 
dec.” (Heb. 6:18-20.) 

It is certain that this hope is not for the return of 
Jesus to earth to set up a kingdom. The inspired 





302 The Kingdom and Coming of Christ 


writer has before him the exalted and glorified Jesus, 
not as an earthly king, but as a spiritual and heavenly 
high priest. The scene of His activities is in heaven 
whither He has entered for us, that He might bring us 
to God, and give us a place at the right hand of the 
throne in heaven. 

John, the beloved disciple, had this full assurance of 
hope before him, in all its saving and purifying power, 
when he wrote, “ Beloved, now are we the sons of God, 
and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we 
know that when He shall appear we shall be like Him; 
for we shall see Him as He is. And every one that hath 
this hope in him purifieth himself even as he is pure.” 
(1 John 3:2-3.) It is the hope of being with Jesus, 
seeing Him as He is, and sharing with Him the glory 
of the Father, that transforms the life and makes 
us like Him in character and spirit. It was for this 
that Jesus prayed on our behalf. “ I pray for them 
. . . for they are thine.” “ That they all may be one ; 
as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also 
may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou 
hast sent me. And the glory which thou gavest me I 
have given them: that they may be one, even as we are 
one.” (John 17: 9, 22, 23.) Jesus is therefore called 
our hope, as He is called our righteousness, our peace, 
and our life, because He has brought to us righteous¬ 
ness, peace, hope, life, and from these all other blessings 
proceed. 

The full object and consummation of our hope is not 
a millennial kingdom on earth, but the triumphant 
kingdom in heaven. Paul’s thanksgiving for the faith 
and devotion of the Colossian Christians is, “ We give 
thanks to God and the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, 





The Gospel Hope 


803 


praying always for you, since we heard of your faith 
in Christ Jesus, and the love which ye have to all the 
saints; for the hope which is laid up for you in heaven.” 
(Col. 1:5.) Here, then, the object of hope is heaven, 
and all that heaven connotes to the devout, praying 
Christian. Peter grips this fact and elaborates it in 
such a manner that there is no mistaking his meaning. 
He writes, “ Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord 
Jesus Christ, which according to His abundant mercy 
hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resur¬ 
rection of Jesus Christ from the dead to an inheritance 
incorruptible, undefiled, and that fadeth not away, re¬ 
served in heaven for us who are kept by the power of 
God unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last 
time.” (1 Pet. 1:3-5.) 

This passage is worthy careful analysis. By 44 be¬ 
gotten us again unto a lively, or living hope,” Peter 
evidently had in view the experience of himself and 
fellow disciples at the crucifixion and burial of Jesus. 
Their hope of the restoration of the kingdom of Israel 
under the Messiah was crucified and buried with Jesus 
in Joseph’s tomb. But when these disciples saw their 
Lord alive after the resurrection, their hope was begot¬ 
ten again, and so enlarged and clarified that they got a 
new vision of Jesus and His redemptive glory. When 
they saw Him ascend into heaven their affection and 
hope were lifted from earth to the glories at the right 
hand of God. It was similar to the transferred inter¬ 
est of the parents whose beloved child is promoted to 
glory. Heaven has a new fascination. The exaltation 
of Jesus begat again in those disciples a living, trans¬ 
forming, and inspiring hope 44 to an inheritance incor¬ 
ruptible and undefiled and that fadeth not away, re- 




304 The Kingdom and Coming of Christ 


served in heaven for us who are kept by the power of 
faith unto salvation, ready to be revealed at the last 
time.” 

This rebirth of the dead hope was also a rebirth to a 
higher spiritual life. Only those can inherit the king¬ 
dom of God and enter upon eternal life who are born 
from above by the Holy Spirit. (John 3:3.) It may 
then be confidently accepted that Peter was here basing 
the living hope upon the regeneration of the soul, which 
is made sure by the resurrection power of Jesus, by 
which also we are assured of a glorious resurrection 
from the dead to enter with Jesus into the heavenly 
home with the Father God. 

Surely this brings heaven nearer to us than Dr. 
Broughton would have us think. Even he does not 
know when his millennial kingdom will begin; it may be 
thousands of years in the future. If heaven is not 
until the end of the millennial kingdom his hope can 
have no immediate realization. Would not this be a 
case in which “ hope deferred maketh the heart sick ” ? 
But “ the living hope ” of Peter has immediate realiza¬ 
tion by faith of the inheritance already reserved in 
heaven for all who are “ kept by the power of God 
through faith.” 

Paul also looks upon the hope of the gospel as bring¬ 
ing the Christian into virtual possession of the inherit¬ 
ance to be fully enjoyed in heaven with Christ our 
Lord. To him the departure from this life is to be 
with Christ. (Phil. 1:23; 2 Cor. 5:1-4.) Therefore 
he explains the hope of the gospel to the Thessalonian 
Church, that they might not sorrow over those who fall 
asleep, “even as others which have no hope.” (1 
Thess. 4: 13.) He says, “ Now our Lord Jesus Christ 
Himself and God, even the Father, which hath loved 




The Gospel Hope 


305 


us, and hath given us everlasting consolation and good 
hope through grace, comfort your hearts and stablish 
you in every good word and work.” (2 Thess. 2: 16, 
17.) In both these passages the hope is based upon 
the resurrection of the dead, and the glorification of 
the faithful throughout eternity. They already en¬ 
joyed pardon and peace with God, but the resurrection 
and eternal glory were necessarily future. These they 
had in anticipation and therefore through grace they 
had already received a good hope of heaven, a well 
grounded expectation that through Jesus they would 
enter into this glorious state. 

In the epistle to Titus, hope is made prominent; not 
the hope of an earthly kingdom, but 44 the hope of eter¬ 
nal life.” (Tit. 1:3 and 3:7.) Paul gives as the 
supreme motive of his apostleship and his aim as a 
servant of God the promotion of the knowledge of the 
truth which is after godliness, that all should be made 
heirs of God according to the hope of eternal life 
44 promised in Christ before the world began” (or the 
beginning of the age). Jesus set forth the promise 
and purpose of the gospel as the giving of eternal life 
to every one that believeth. (John 3:15, 16, 35.) 
Dr. Adam Clark’s note on 44 the hope of eternal life ” is, 
44 In expectation of a state of being and wellbeing which 
should last through eternity, when time shall be no 
more. This includes not only the salvation of the soul 
and its eternal beatification, but also the resurrection 
of the body. This was the point but ill understood 
and not clearly revealed under the Mosaic law; but it 
was fully revealed under the gospel and the doctrine 
illustrated by the resurrection of Christ.” (Dr. A. 
Clark’s Commentary , Titus 1:3.) 

The object of the regenerating power, and justifying 




306 The Kingdom and Coming of Christ 


grace of the love and mercy of God is to enable man 
to realize this “ hope of eternal life.” (Titus 3: 4—7.) 
This Paul calls a “ blessed hope.” He says, “ Look¬ 
ing for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing 
of the Great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ.” (Tit. 
2:13.) This is a favorite passage of millennialists. 
They entwine much sentiment around this “ blessed 
hope,” and designate it as “ the pole star of the 
church.” And yet it is doubtful if Paul intended any 
reference to the actual coming again of Jesus, second or 
otherwise. At all events, there is no mention here nor in 
this whole epistle of the parousia , or personal presence 
of Jesus. It is not really “ the glorious appearance of 
the Great God,” but as the Revised Version renders it, 
“ the appearing of the glory.” There is also a question 
as to whether it is this “ appearing ” that is the “ blessed 
hope.” The passage reads, “ Looking for the blessed 
hope and appearing of the glory.” The construction 
implies that they are two distinct things, or parts of 
the Christian’s experience. In the other references of 
this epistle it is “ the hope of eternal life.” Dr. Adam 
Clark’s comment is, “ Some think the blessed hope and 
glorious appearing are the same thing; but I do not 
think so. The blessed hope refers simply to eternal 
glorification in general, the glorious appearing to the 
resurrection of the body: for when Christ appears He 
will change this vile body and make it like unto His own 
glorious body, according to the working whereby He is 
able to subdue all things to Himself.” (Phil. 3:20, 
21.) There is certainly nothing in this passage to jus¬ 
tify the millennial assumptions. The epistle must be 
interpreted consistently with itself. As Paul prefaced 
it with a declaration of the “ hope of eternal life,” 
“ according to the faith of God’s elect and the acknowl- 




The Gospel Hope 


307 


edging of the truth which is after godliness,” and con¬ 
cluded with the assurance of the greatness of this hope 
according to the saving mercy of God, “ shed on us 
abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour” (Titus 
1: 1-3 and 3: 4-7), we cannot do other than accept this 
gift of eternal life as “ the blessed hope ” and “ the pole 
star of the church.” 

The “ hope of eternal life ” gives an eternal interest 
and citizenship in heaven, whither Jesus our forerunner 
and great High Priest hath entered (Heb. 6:20) to 
prepare a place for us, that He “ might come again and 
receive *us unto Himself; that where He is, there we may 
be also.” (John 14: 2, 3.) Whether He comes to re¬ 
ceive us through the portals of death, or translates us 
as God did Enoch and Elijah, is not of great conse¬ 
quence. The supreme question is, will we be prepared 
to meet Him with joy and enter with Him to the great 
marriage feast, as were the wise virgins? Or will we 
neglect the all important oil in the vessels with our 
lamps and be eternally shut out of the heavenly king¬ 
dom? It is the danger of this awful fatality that called 
forth the insistent exhortations from Jesus and the 
apostles to diligence and prayerful watching for the 
coming of the Lord. It is evident the apostles expected 
Jesus to come again in like manner as they saw Him go 
into heaven. (Acts 1:11.) This coming, however, is 
to judge the vrorld. Then, they that believe not the 
gospel and obey not the truth will be cut off, but the 
saints will be rewarded for their faithfulness, “ with the 
crown of life that fadeth not away.” Therefore, to 
them that are in Christ Jesus, the coming or day of 
the Lord will be a jubilee of rejoicing and great glori¬ 
fication. “The Lord is coming to judge the world; 
every hour that passes on in the lapse of time is ad- 




308 The Kingdom and Coming of Christ 


vancing that approach; whatsoever He does is in refer¬ 
ence to that event; and whatsoever we do should be in 
reference to the same. But who in that great day shall 
give up his accounts with joy? The person only whose 
heart is established in holiness before God, that is, so 
as to bear the eye and strict scrutiny of his Judge.” 
(Dr. A. Clark, 1 Cor. 4: 5.) Therefore, “ judge noth¬ 
ing before the time, until the Lord come, who both will 
bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and will 
make manifest the counsels of the hearts: and then 
shall every man have praise of God.” 

The confident expectation of the divine approval at 
that da}', which is even now attested to the true dis¬ 
ciple of Jesus by the full assurance of faith and hope, 
inspires the soul with a devotion and praise born of the 
Holy Spirit. Even the trial of faith, through tempta¬ 
tion and sorrow, wdiich is more precious than of gold 
that perisheth, prepares the faithful for that day, that 
they “ might be found unto praise and honor and glory 
at the appearing of Jesus Christ, whom having not 
seen they love; in whom, though now they see Him not 
yet believing they rejoice with joy unspeakable and 
full of glory: receiving the end of their faith, even the 
salvation of their souls.” (1 Pet. 1: 7-9.) 

This great consummation so filled with “ praise, and 
honor and glory,” is the time when “ The Son of Man 
mil come in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him 
and shall sit upon the throne of His glory; and before 
Him shall be gathered all nations: and He shall separate 
them one from another as the shepherd divideth his 
sheep from the goats: and He shall set the sheep on the 
right hand, and the goats on the left. Then shall the 
King say to them on His right hand, ‘ Come, ye blessed 
of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you 




The Gospel Hope 


309 


from the foundation of the world.’ ” (Matt. 25 : 31- 
33.) 

There will be no slips in that judgment. Every per¬ 
son will receive a just recompense of reward, for “ God 
shall judge the secrets of men according to the gospel.” 
(Rom. 2:1-16.) Hence Paul’s fervent prayer: “The 
very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray 
God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved 
blameless, unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. 
Faithful is he that calleth you who also will do it.” 
(1 Thess. 5:23.) 

Throughout the scriptures the highest hope held out 
to man is a perfect salvation from sin, a full restoration 
to the likeness and fellowship of God through the sancti¬ 
fication of the Holy Spirit, and eternal joy and felicity 
in heaven with Christ our Saviour at the right hand of 
the throne of glory. This transcendent rapture of 
heaven is described under manifold figures, and in the 
most glowing poetical and apocalyptical imagery of 
which our language is capable. The more we study 
these exalted pictures, and the exceeding great and 
precious promises of the glories of heaven to all who be¬ 
lieve the gospel, the more deeply we are impressed with 
the conviction that “ Eye hath not seen nor ear heard, 
neither have entered into the heart of man the things 
which God hath prepared for them that love Him.” (1 
Cor. 2:9.) 

By the power of saving grace we are privileged 
to enjoy in our souls such a satisfying foretaste of 
the peace, joy, and glory of the heavenly life and fel¬ 
lowship that we are drawn by the everlasting love of 
God to consecrate our all to the service and praise of 
our adorable Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. 

It is this heavenly experience that cheers and sus- 





310 The Kingdom and Coming of Christ 


tains the trusting saints through the gloom of the 
temptations, conflicts, and sorrows of this world. 
They know that “ our light affliction, which is but for 
a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and 
eternal weight of glory; while we look not at the things 
which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: 
for the things which are seen are temporal; but the 
things which are not seen are eternal.” (2 Cor. 4: 18.) 

This faith and hope in the Lord Jesus Christ is 
the greatest possible incentive to holiness. It inspires 
the strongest courage in the face of danger. It sus¬ 
tains loyalty in the performance of duty. It fans the 
embers of holy love and devotion into a consuming flame 
of evangelistic zeal, so that with wonderful cheerfulness 
God’s ambassadors carry the Glad Tidings “ even unto 
the uttermost parts of the earth.” 




INDEX 


Texts Pages 

Gen. 12:3 . 144 

Gen. 12:3; 17:4, 5; 18:18.. 203 

Gen. 18:18; 22:18; 26:4_ 144 

Gen. 49:1 . 114 

Exod. 14:19, 20; 24:15-18.. 241 

Exod. 32:32, 33 . 194 

Exod. 33:44 . 76 

Lev. 16:23, 24 . 293 

Deu. 30:15-20 . 228 

1 Sam. 8:6, 7 . 37 

2 Sam. 7:12-16 . 21 

2 Sam. 22:8-12 . 217 

1 Kings 2:2-4 . 26 

1 Kings 8:25 . 22 

1 Chron. 22:7-13 . 21 

Psalm 16:9 . 296 

Psalm 18:7-14 . 217 

Psalm 18:10-12 241 

Psalm 56:8; 139:10 . 194 

Psalm 68:8; 97:4, 5 . 232 

Psalm 72:8 . 69 

Psalm 90:4 .. 54 

Psalm 98:1-5 . 218 

Psalm 132:11 . 26 

Isaiah 1:19, 20 . 29 

Isaiah 2:2 . 1 

Isaiah 9:2, 6. 42,186 

Isaiah Ch. 11 .100-110 

Isaiah Ch. 35 .110-113 

Isaiah 12:2, 3; 51:1 259 

Isaiah 13:6-10 . 234 

Isaiah 19:1 .233,235,241 

Isaiah 42:6; 49:6 .. 146 

Isaiah 58:1 . 242 

Isaiah 60:1-5 . 146 

Isaiah 61:1, 2 . 98 

Jer. 4:26 . 233 

Jer. 31:32, 34; 32:40-42_ 97 

Ezek. Chs. 18 and 33 . 27 

Ezek. 18:2, 19, 20 . 158 

Ezek. 32:7, 8 . 235 

Dan. Chs. 2, 7 and 8 ....113-131 

Dan. 8:13, 14 . 53 

Dan. 7:13 . 240 

Dan. 8:10 . 235 

Dan. 9:27; 11:31; 12:11_ 22 r 

Hosea 13:9; 4:17 . 2' 

Hosea 11:1 .32,3c 

Joel 2:16, 17. 114 

Joel 2:28-32 . 23e 

Amos 9:11, 12 . 164 

Hab. 2:14 . 132 

Zech. 12:11, 12 . 240 

Zech. 14:4, 5 . 80 

Mai. 3:16 194 

Matt. 1:21 .141,174 

Matt. 1:23 . 42 

Matt. 2:15 .32,33 


Texts Pages 

Matt. 3:2; 4:17; 6:33 . 11 

Matt. 3:2, 4, 17 . 247 

Matt. 3:11-13 .242,277 

Matt. 4:9-10 . 9 

Matt. 5:13-14 . 139 

Matt. 5:17 .98,132 

Matt. 6:33 . 135 

Matt. 7:13-23 . 280 

Matt. 9:13 . 92 

Matt. 10:16 . 108 

Matt. 10:28 . 68 

Matt. 11:12 . 242 

Matt. 12:26 . 91 

Matt. 13:24-30, 38 . 134 

Matt. 13:31-32 . 132 

Matt. 13:40-43 . 190 

Matt. 13:49 . 208 

Matt. 13:40-50 . 283 

Matt. 16:6-12 132 

Matt. 16:27, 28 .244,294 

Matt. 21:33-43 . 289 

Matt. 22:16-21; 17:24-27... 30 

Matt. 23:26 . 244 

Matt. 23:34-39 .29,219 

Matt. 24:5, 24, 31 .4,241 

Matt. 24:1-51 .220-284 

Matt. 25:1-46 .53-281 

Matt. 25:10-12, 30, 30...284, 287 

Matt. 25:31-33 . 309 

Matt. 26:32 . 210 

Matt. 28:18 .36, 71, 138 

Matt. 28:19, 20 .76,87,92 

Mark 1:2 .. 242 

Mark 9:1 . 244 

Mark 13:26 . 240 

Mark 16:15 .138,226 

Luke 1:32, 33 .20, 37, 38 

Luke 1:79 . 186 

Luke 1:68-73 . 203 

Luke 2:1 . 224 

Luke 2:28-32 . 147 

Luke 4:18—21 . 98 

Luke 7:24, 27 . 242 

Luke 9:27 . 244 

Luke 9:51, 52 . 242 

Luke 10:9-11 . 248 

uuke 11:21-22 . 71 

Luke 12:14 . 4 

Luke 13:24-30 .17,284 

Luke 16:10 . 285 

Luke 16:16 . 208 

Luke 16:19-31 . 290 

Luke 17:20, 21 .13,270 

Luke 19:10 . 92 

Luke 19:12-27 . 282 

Luke 19:37-44 .28,234 

Luke 21:24 . 166 

311 













































































































312 


Index 


Texts 

Luke 21:24-27 . 

Luke 23:34 . 

Luke 24:21 . 

Luke 24:44—53 . 

John 1:1 . 

Pages 

.5, 137, 310 

. 75 

Texts 

Acts 16:13 . 

Acts 17:16-31 . 

Acts 17:30, 31 .... 

Acts 21:20 . 

Acts 23 :6 . 

Pages 

. 153 

.154, 174, 278 

. 297 

John 1:11 . 


Acts 24:14, 15 .... 


. . . . 298 

John 3:3 . 


Acts 26:6 . 



John 3:13 . 

. 214 

Acts 26:15-18 . 



John 3:16, 18 . 

. 158 

Acts 28:20 . 


. . . . 298 

John 4:13; 14 . 


Acts 28:23-28 .... 



John 4:22 .. 

. 156 

Rom. 1:16 . 


.157, 159 

John 5:24—29 . 

. . .197, 184 

Rom. 2:1—16 . 


. . . . 309 

John 5:28—29 .. 

. . .188, 288 

Rom. 2:3-11 . 


.... 162 

John 6:26, 27, 60, 66. 

.82, 83 

Rom. 3:2, 13-17 _ 


.143, 145 

John 6:39, 40 . 


Rom. 3:21, 23 _ 


.... 154 

John 6:39-45 . 


Rom. 4: and Gal. 3 . 


. . . . 203 

John 10:15-18 . 

. 74 

Rom 4:3 13 17 . . 


. . .. 151 

John 12:20, 21 . 

. 101 

Rom. 5:7; 6:11-23 , 


. . . . 263 

John 12:32, 31 . 


Rom. 6:11-17 . 


. . . . 86 

John 13:33-36 . 


Rom. 8:33—39 . 


. ... 66 

John 14:23 . 


Rom. 10:11-13 . 


.154, 166 

John 14:12 . 


Rom. 10 :18 . 


. . . . 226 

John 14:16, 18 . 


Rom. 11: . 



John 14:18, 21, 23, 28 

. 211 

Rom. 11:5 . 


. . . . 131 

John 14:30 . 

. 65 

Rom. 11:19 23 . . . . 


. . .. 161 

John 15:4, 5 . 


Rom. 11:25,' 27 . 


.163, 171 

John 16:7 . 


Rom. 11:29, 33 . 


.174, 277 

John 16:7-15 . 


Rom. 13:12 . 



John 16:12, 13 . 


Rom. 14:14 . 



John 16:16, 20 . 

.3, 18, 210 

Rom. 14:17 . 



John 16:33 . 


Rom. 16:25, 26 . . . . 


. . . . 202 

John 17:1-4 . 


1 Cor. 2:6-8 . 



John 17:1, 5, 22 . 


1 Cor. 2:9-16 . 



John 17:21-23 . 


1 Cor. 4:5 . 



John 17:9, 22, 23 . . . . 


1 Cor. 5:6-8 . 



John 18:36 . 


1 Cor. 6:9 10 . 


263 

John 19:10, 11 . 


1 Cor. 10:11 . 


207 

Acts 1:3 . 


1 Cor. 11:26 . . 


269 

Acts 1:4; 2:1-21 . 


1 Cor. 15:13, 14, 17 



Acts 1:5-8 . 

.6, 18, 285 

1 Cor. 15:22-24 _ 



Acts 1:11 . 


1 Cor. 15:44 . . 


43 

Acts 1:14; 2:1 . 


1 Cor. 15:50 . 


263 

Acts 2:1—4 . 


1 Cor. 15:53 54 . 


197 

Acts 2:9, 11 . 


1 Cor. 15:55-58 ... 



Acts 2:22-24 . 


2 Cor. 4:18 . 



Acts 2:29-36 . 


2 Cor. 5:1, 10 . 


192, 215 

Acts 2:42-47 . 


2 Cor. 5:1-4 . 


304 

Acts 3:21, 22 . 


2 Cor. 5:10 . 


26Q 

Acts 3:22-25 . 


2 Cor. 12:7 . 


242 

Acts 4:10, 11 . 


Gal. 2:7, 13 . 



Acts 4:32 . 


Gal. 3:6. 8, 9, 14, 16 


... 145 

Acts 5:31 . 


Gal. 3 :13—18 . . . 


1 ^9 

Acts 5:36, 37 . 


Gal. 3:27-29 . 



Acts 7:54-60 . 


Gal. 3:28 . 


9£9 

Acts 8:1-4, 29-39. 


Gal. 4:4, 5 . 

143, 

174, 203 

Acts 9:8 . 


Gal. 5:21 . 



Acts 10:34, 35 .148,153,244 

Eph. 1:10 . 


174, 205 

Acts 10:42 . 


Eph. 1:15-23 . 


215, 275 

Acts 11:3, 17, 18 . 

. 148 

Eph. 1:19; 3:7, 20 . 


. ... .87 

Acts 11:28 . 


Eph. 2:1; 5 :14 


1 

Acts 13:1-3 . 


Eph. 2:11-17 .. 


1 

Acts 13:27 . 


Eph. 2:19-22 . 



Acts 13:46, 47 . 


Eph. 2:11-22 . 



Acts 14:15-18 . 


Eph. 2:17 .... 



Acts 15:6-12 . 


Eph. 3:15 . . 


1 Q 1 

Acts 15:9-22 . 


Eph. 6:10, 11 . 













































































































































Index 


313 


Texts Pages 

Phil. 1:21-24 .268,304 

Phil. 3:20-21 .294,297,306 

Phil. 4 :u . 269 

Col. 1:5 . 303 

Col. 1:3-6. 23 .226,298 

Col. 1:11, 29 . 87 

Col. 1:12, 13 . 263 

Col. 1:21, 23, 26, 27_202,299 

Col. 2:12. 13; 3:1 . 186 

Col. 3:8-11 . 155 

Col. 3:15 . 87 

1 Thess. 1:9, 10; 4:15 . 266 

1 Thess. 2:15, 16 . 265 

1 Thess. 4:13 . 304 

1 Thess. 4:13-18 . 180 

1 Thess. 4:15 . 278 

1 Thess. 5:23 . 309 

2 Thess. 1:3-10 . 279 

2 Thess. 2:3-4 . 267 

2 Thess. 2:16, 17 . 305 

1 Tim. 1:1 . 300 

1 Tim. 1:12; 4:8 . 196 

1 Tim. 1:17 . 42 

1 Tim. 6:15 . 76 

2 Tim. 1:9-11 . 200 

2 Tim. 2:15 . 93 

2 Tim. 3:13 . 16 

2 Tim 4:1, 8 . 278 

Titus 1:1-3 . 201 

Titus 1:3; 3:7 . 305 

Titus 2:12 . 42 

Titus 2:13; 3:4-7 . 306 

Heb. 1:1, 2 . 114 

Heb. 2:9 .206,293 

Heb. 4:11-13 . 277 

Heb. 6:10-12 3d0 

Heb. 6:18-20 .295,301,307 

Heb. 7:25 292 

Heb. 8:10-12 . 132 

Heb. 9: C'omp. Ex. 24:3—8... 150 

Pleb. 9:10 . 207 

Heb. 9:13, 14 . 291 

Heb. 9:26-28 .206,290 

Heb. 10:22 301 

Heb. 10:25 . 248 


Texts Pa ;es 

Heb. 10:26 . 291 

Heb. 10:35-37 . 290 

James 2:25 . 242 

James 5:1-9 .248,270 

1 Pet. 1:3-5 .68,303 

1 Pet. 1:7-9 . 308 

1 Pet. 1:24 . 73 

1 Pet. 2:9 . 187 

1 Pet. 4:7 . 248 

1 Pet. 4:17, 18 270 

1 Pet. 5:13 . 225 

2 Pet. 1:15, 16 . 271 

2 Pet. 2:1-6 . 271 

2 Pet. 3:8 . 264 

2 Pet. 3:1, 2, 11, 16, 17..273. 279 

2 Pet. 3:3, 4, 9. 10 .54, 270 

2 Pet. 3:10-13 .44,272 

2 Pet, 3:15, 16 . 268 

1 John 2:18 . 221 

1 John 3:2, 3 . 302 

1 John 3:8; 4:4; 5:4, 5, 18.. 65 

1 John 3:14 . 186 

1 John 5:19 . 16 

Jude, 14, 15 . 279 

Rev. 1:1, 2 .246,259 

Rev. 1:3 247 

Rev. 1:5, 6 . 187 

Rev. 1:7, 11 . 249 

Rev. 1:9 . 256 

Rev. 2:7. 11, 17, 26. 66 

Rev. 3:5, 12, 21 . 67 

Rev. 3:5 195 

Rev. 6:9, 10 . 251 

Rev. 6:12-15 252 

Rev. 11:15. 98 

Rev. 13:8 . 195 

Rev. 16:16 . 255 

Rev. 20:1-8 55,64 

Rev. 20:4-6 . 197 

Rev. 20:4-14 .182,187 

Rev. 20:6 . 43 

Rev. 20:11-15 .193,195,287 

Rev. 22:6, 10, 20 . 249 

Rev. 22:17 259 
































































































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